The Unknown Variable
by Cry-Pom
Summary: Tony Stark has always had to deal with variables. But when he miss calculates a new one, everything he knows will change. Will he and those he care about survive? There is a new player in the game, on that will shake up the world, and leave nothing the same. First chapter Pre-Iron Man, covers all Marvel movies I believe it should, at the least Iron Man 1,2,3 and Avengers.
1. Pepper meet Piper-Immortals-

The Unknown Variable

**(6/20/13) I rebooted this chapter so more questions could be answered and so this story would have a better hook. I apologize to any of my readers I may have annoyed, (for giving stuff away) but I know that for others this will answer many other questions (hopefully) that you may have had.**

* * *

**Prolog**

Three figures stood on a mountain cliff, looking down at the highway below them where traffic was crawling along the interstate.

The first figure and only male was staring intensely at a rickety buss that was slowly making its way down the road. He was deathly pale, his skin grey; he had messy locks of black that fell to his shoulders. His eyes flashed between black and silver with his emotions. His lips were a pale pink color, and were currently pressed into a thin line, the only hint at his annoyance. He wore a black cloak that draped around his shoulders like a shadow. Beneath the cloak, if you were lucky enough to spot his figure, you would see a pair of black breaches that were tucked into dark boots that folded over at the top. His top was a simple black shirt made from silk, and if you looked closely, you might catch a glimpse of a silver chain around his neck.

He looked young, though no matter how closely you looked you would be unable to guess his age. Only the look in his eyes betrayed his true age.

Besides him stood a much healthier looking girl, her flawless skin, as soft as a newborn's, held a healthy tan. She had bright golden eyes that seemed to shine with happiness, which could flash silver in her rare moments of rage. She had long straight white hair that flowed to her mid-back that was braided with flowers. Her full bright pinks lips, which usually held a smile, were curved in a slight frown, as she watched her brother with concern. She wore a bright green gown, with golden ruin stitched into the fabric. The gown's sleeves hung off her shoulders, before fitting to her upper arm and ending in a long flare. Beneath her face dress, her feet were bare. Resting on her left wrist, mostly hidden from sight, was a bright silver bracelet.

Just like her brother, the woman seemed to just radiate youth, but her age was undeterminable.

There was a third figure, the most curious of all. She had long silver hair that fell past her waist that was highlighted with blue. She had large cloudy blue eyes that gave her a dreamy look; her skin was pale, though not unhealthy. Her lips were full, and a pale pink color. Across one eye, she had a four inch scar, which made her seem wiser than her apparent years. She wore a simple light blue robe with a dark blue cloak clasped under her chin. Within her hand she held a carved staff with various symbols and runes carved into the black wood. At the top of the staff sat a large clear crystal that seemed to have smoke trapped inside that never stopped swirling. It was hypnotizing.

"You are worried for her." The third figure spoke, her voice dreamy, but wise, as if she had seen everything, and knew all.

The male figure just snorted "Do you even need to ask Infinitas?"

"I do not, but it would be rude not to inquire." The third figure deemed Infinitas replied.

"We have adjusted to your knowledge long ago sister," The second figure said, her voice young and cheerful.

"You might 'ave but I prefer to keep my thoughts to myself Vitam." He snapped, not even sparing the girls a glance as he watched the bus.

"Aequivalere has been rubbing off on you, hasn't she?" The second figure, known as Vitam stated.

"Of-course she has." He replied rolling his eyes. "We have been bonded for how many millennia now?"

Vitam shrugged while Infinitas replied, "Long enough."

He sighed, shaking his head at his sisters. "Why must she go through this? Neither of us had to stay mortal for so long. She Awoke many millennia ago now, why hasn't she gained her Immortal form yet?"

Infinitas sighed, closing her cloudy eyed before speaking, "Mortem, she…"

"Not another word, Infinitas, or I'll go to Father." A young, but hard voice stated, causing all three of the Immortals to turn around.

Both Vitam and Mortem groaned as they saw who it was. It was another Immortal; she appeared to be only seven, with long blonde hair and large purple eyes. She always wore a smirk and had a mischievous glint in her eyes. She wore a pink silk dress and had a purple ribbon in her hair.

"Fati," Mortem groaned, wanting to leave. Fati had been the youngest (newest) Immortal until Aequivalere Awoke, and she held a serious grudge to her since.

"Mortem, Infinitas, Vitam, what are you doing here?" Fati said with a too innocent smile, as she skipped over. Her eyebrow rose as she spotted the traffic below and sensed Aequivalere's Sleeping presence.

Her eyes narrowed in anger as she turned on her older 'siblings'. In truth, none of the Immortals were actual siblings, besides Vitam and Mortem they were twins. All the others just prefer to refer to themselves as siblings; it helped fill the gap of not having a family.

Many of the Immortals were also bonded, or mates, with each other. It was the only time when they didn't call each other brother and sister.

Mortem and Aequivalere are mates, and have been for a very long time; even if she didn't always remember him.

"You're not to interfere until he Awakens once again. You know that." Fati stated, glaring at Mortem. They never got along, and most of their fights were over the newest Immortal.

"_She_" Mortem hissed, "and I was not interfering, I am just observing."

"We have not messed with your realm, Fati." Vitam spoke, supporting her twin.

Each Immortal relished over a Realm, or a part of the Existence, that they were responsible for. It was against Father's Word to influence another's realm.

Sadly, because Aequivalere had not yet acquired her Immortal Form, she was stuck as a mortal, living over and over again to fulfill her Realm's responsibility.

It was well known between Fati's older siblings that it was she who stopped Aequivalere from acquiring her Form. She twisted her path so she never truly Awoke, causing her to forget her Place, and her duties.

That was, until she passed into Mortem's realm and he, along with Infinitas, restored her memories and full powers.

It had been the same cycle for many millennia; she would be reborn without any of her memories, and the smallest amount of her powers. Her life would be constantly on the line between life and death, her soul trying to regain the memories it had lost, and the mind trying to stay alive. Her life would be influenced greatly by her Realm, and only once she entered Mortem's Realm, did she regain everything that made her an Immortal.

Then, her Realm would force her to restart the cycle over again, taking her to another place that needed her.

It hurt Mortem to see the Immortal he had bonded to all those years ago, forget him over and over again. It hurt even more to know that Aequivalere's lack of control over her powers, and her lack of Form, was all because Fati was jealous.

Every Immortal knew that, except for Aequivalere. She had accepted what Fati told her without question, blindly following what she said, and it was her own belief that was holding her back.

Fati did everything in her power, which was great, to keep every Immortal from helping Aequivalere discover what she had done.

They all hated it, but none of them could do anything about it.

"You are to leave Harry Potter alone until he Awakens once again. Do Not Interfere." Fati hissed the last part.

"Her name is Aequivalere; she has not been called Harry Potter since her First Life, when she first Awoke." Mortem hissed.

He was very sensitive about Aequivalere's first life. For it was his actions, accompanied, unknown at the time, with Fati's that make her an Immortal in the first place.

She had blamed him for many lifetimes, and hated him. But that hate turned to trust, and they bonded. No closer Immortals existed.

"Whatever." Fati dismissed, waving her hand at Mortem.

"You are to treat your siblings with respect." Infinitas stated coldly. She was one of the Eldest. She had been around since the Beginning, there were very few who were Elder than her.

Vitam and Mortem were also among the Eldest. Father had handpicked them, like he did all Immortals, and gave them their powers.

Fati rolled her eyes and glared at Infinitas. Fati always thought that her Realm governed Infinitas', so she believed that the Immortal Elder should listen to her.

"Just leave him alone." Fati said.

Mortem rolled his eyes, gave one last glance at the traffic, the buss holding his bonded was now out of sight; and he vanished into the Shadows. Most likely going to take his frustration on those condemned to his Realm.

"Fati, Infinitas." Vitam nodded to both before following her brother's lead and vanishing into the Earth.

The two similar Immortals started at each other in silence for a moment, before Infinitas sighed and said,

"I have Seen what you are planning Young One, and you would do well to Heed my advice. She is more powerful than you believe. Do not underestimate her, or it will be all of our undoing."

With that piece of sorrowful advice, Infinitas faded from sighed, just vanishing.

Fati ignored the Elder's words. She had been playing this game since she Awoke, and even before then. She knew what she was doing.

"I will find a way to End you Harry Potter. You have been a thorn in my side for too long." Fati paused, before smirking and adding. "Even if you've been a fun toy."

Then she vanished as well, leaving the cliff deserted.

The young redhead in question turned towards the cliff, looking out through the buss window in confusion. Something just felt… off.

She knew her life was to change, she had planned it. But she didn't plan on Death, Life, and Infinity all making a vow to save their new sibling from Fate.

After all, nothing could Exist without Balance.

* * *

Tony Stark has always dealt with variables; in calculations, when designing new weapons, dealing with the Board and Pepper.

The new girl whom he hired as a personal assistant was a variable he thought he wouldn't have to think about. Sure she was there, but she wasn't going to change anything.

Now Pepper is great but she was getting a little over worked, so after months of badgering him, he hired someone else to help pull some of the weight that Pepper was carrying.

Tony hired her, instead of being Pepper's assistant as she requested, to be Pepper's partner. Now Pepper hadn't been happy about the change in plans but she was willing to work with it. She was glad to have someone else who could baby sit Tony while she worked.

That was until Pepper meet who her partner.

"Tony!" Pepper Potts yelled as she marched into his garage/lab.

"Yah?" He asked his voice muffled from the fact he was currently under one of his cars, presuming working on it.

"How could you!" She scolded as Tony rolled out from under the car with a wrench in his hand.

"It was easy… now remind me again why I am in trouble?" He asked as he took a cloth and wiped himself off of the grease and oil.

"YOU are the problem Tony… I can't believe you… you've done some really stupid things before but this is an all-time low." Pepper yelled beginning what appeared to be a long lecture.

"Pepper, I'm sure whatever I did your just worrying over nothing." Tony replied as he put his tools away and walked over to his desk.

"Over nothing? Tony I don't think you realize what I am talking about here!"

"Nope," He said popping the P "no idea."

Pepper rolled her eyes, dealing with Tony was like dealing with a young child, with a large IQ.

"Miss Telnets is the problem, Tony!"

Tony looked at her, raising an eye brow; whatever he was expecting that sure the hell was not it.

"Miss Telnets? How can she be the problem? I just hired her not even an hour ago!" Tony exclaimed totally confused.

"Yes Tony and that is the problem!" Ms. Potts yelled.

"How can she be a problem?" Tony asked turning around and crossing his arms looking her dead in the eyes.

"Tony! Do you even know how old she is?" Pepper asked, wondering is Tony just picked the first girl he saw.

"Yup, sure do! She's fifteen as of last month." Tony replied spinning back around and sitting in his chair.

Pepper looked at Tony as if he had lost his mind, why on earth would he hire a child?

"Tony… she's a child! She has no experience and no reason to be here what so ever!"

"And how, may I ask, would you know if I should be here or not Miss Potts?" a young musical voice asked from behind them.

Tony and Pepper both turned around to see the previously mentioned fifteen year old standing there her arms crossed over her chest.

Pepper was speechless; she did not think that she would come down here… or that she would hear their conversation.

Tony had a cheeky smile on his face saying that he found this all very amusing. Seeing that no one was going to say anything she continued.

"Miss Potts I don't think we were _properly_ introduced, seeing that you ran down here as soon as you saw me."

Tony turned to look at Pepper as she blushed in embarrassment

"My name is Piper Penelope Telnets, it has been a _pleasure_ to meet you." Piper said stressing the word pleasure.

Piper was dressed in a dark blue two piece suit with matching flats; she had light blue eyes the color of the sky and short curly red hair the color of a new copper penny.

After a moment of silence Pepper continued "That does not change that fact that you are way too young to work here, why you aren't even out of High School and I doubt your parents agree with this, and you would not be able to work the hours and go to school."

Tony rolled his eyes, he read her file she was perfect for the job. He was not completely clueless all the time.

A hard glint appeared in Piper's icy clue eyes as she said coldly, "I finished High School years ago, Ma'am."

Before Piper could continue Pepper interrupted her "Well I'm sure your parents would not approve…"

"My mother is dead Miss Potts." Piper's icy tone chilled both adults to the bone. Tony who was still listening was working on the holographic schematics of a new Stark Weapon, the test had failed; it exploded before the missile was halfway to the destination.

So Tony was trying to figure out where the error was, while also watching the lashing Piper was serving to Pepper.

"_Ok, Piper, Pepper… that is going to get confusing… hmm." _ Tony thought to himself.

"Well your father…" Miss Potts continued but started to fell uncomfortable around the cold eyed teen.

"I never knew my father Miss Potts."

"Then whoever is your legal guardian…" Pepper continued not wanted to be out-smarted by someone so much younger than herself.

"Miss Potts you are getting on my last nerve. I have no legal guardian as I am emancipated. I also have full qualifications and experience for this job."

"A GED is not full qualifications needed for this job…" Pepper began again but Tony this time.

"Miss Potts, I understand you believe you are acting for my and Piper's sake but you have your facts wrong. Did you even read the résumé I sent you?" Tony asked still tinkering with the holographic missile though he wasn't looking at it.

Pepper's silence and red face answered for her.

Piper shook her head, something that Pepper missed, since she was looking at Tony.

"Piper here is a child genius her IQ is higher than mine was at her age. She has Masters in Physics, Electrical Engineering, and a Doctorate in Metaphysics. She is working towards getting PH.D's in both of those subjects. She can also hack better than I can, she overrode Jarvis in three minutes and I watched her hack into the CIA mainframe with in two before leaving with absolutely no trace. She is more than another assistant. She is a consultant and I am looking forward to working with her."

Tony spoke with a level of intelligence that showed just why he was 'Tony Stark'. Pepper was also shocked because there was not one 'Tony' centered sentence in that whole paragraph.

"_Maybe this child…Piper will be good for Tony. E_sp_ecially since she seems to almost be on the same level as he is concerning intelligence."_

"Piper…I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to offend you or be rude." Pepper Potts said to the fourteen year old red head before nodding to Tony and walking back up the stairs.

The ice left Piper's eyes as she looked over at Tony; he was still fiddling with the Hologram though he was staring at where Pepper had been.

"I guess this doesn't happen often?" Piper asked walking over to her new boss with a small smile on her face.

Tony was still stunned; Pepper's behavior towards the end shocked him.

"You're doing that wrong." Piper said snapping Tony out of his shock.

"What?" Tony said confused.

"The connectors are in the wrong place." Piper said as she walked over to Tony's desk.

"Here" she said as she moved around some pieces of the holograph then stepped back as it clicked together and the image fused back together.

Tony snapped out of his shock as he stared at the schismatic. She fixed the problem.

"Wow, thanks Piper..." He paused then turned around and said.

"Piper Pepper, this is going to get confusing. What's your middle name?" Tony asked.

"Penelope." Piper replied, repeating what she said a few minutes ago.

"Well then," Tony said, "You shall be called Penny."

At Piper's raised eyebrow he said, "To keep the confusion between you and Pepper away."

"Ssuurrree." She drawled, rolling her eyes.

Inside though Penny was beaming, no one but her mom had ever called her Penny. Everyone she ever met always called her Piper, and while she liked the name, she felt more like a Penny.

As Tony went back to work Penny smiled, so far, things were looking great.

Things wouldn't stay that way though, for Starks attract trouble like honey attracts bees.

* * *

**(6/20/13) I wonder if this makes it clearer or more complicated to all of you? Oh well, this is to show you I know EXCACTLY what I am doing, and where this is going. And it gives you some answers to your questions…hopefully. But sadly, to do this, it also gives away some of my more fun plot twists. **** Boo you all for demanding it. **

**Also, this shows you just how MAJOR this story is going to become (trust me you have no idea) and how epic I think it is.**

**This is only the beginning… it's going to be one long but crazy ride. But I promise it will be worth it.**

**I'll update soon. (oh, and so far this is the longest chapter.)  
Cp**


	2. Taking out the Trash

**The Unknown Variable**

**Hello, yes this is the next chapter. The reason that these are being updated faster than Sophi is because the chapters are shorter... for the most part. IM STILL WRITING SOPHI it should be out soon.**

**anyway I do not own avengers nor iron man disney and marvel do. **

* * *

Penny POV

I had been working for Tony for a month now, and let's just say it's been interesting. For one thing, I was let into night clubs and casinos without much thought. Because I was Tony's personal baby sitter and had to go where ever he went everyone assumed that I was at least eighteen. They also just believed that I just looked young for my age and that was how I got the job.

After that confrontation with Pepper I didn't see her very often. The only time I saw her was when she threw out the rash, because I watched her so I could learn how to do it efficiently. Pepper had given me all the jobs that kept me in constant proximity with Tony. Anywhere he went, I followed.

Sadly, because of Tony's reputation as a playboy everyone assumed that I had subdued him into giving me the job. It was quiet disturbing when you think about it, I was fifteen for crying out load. When I first heard that I blushed like mad, and shuttered. I had no interest towards Tony like that, it was just wrong!

Pepper seemed satisfied when I told her that, she was worried that Tony was going to take advantage of me, though I doubt Tony would ever do that. He didn't seem the type, even if he was a playboy. Even Tony seemed disgusted at the story the media was spouting.

In the past month nothing really exciting or important happened, I was adjusting to life as Tony Stark's second assistant, which brings me back to the present.

There is an award ceremony for Tony going on right now, and everyone, including Pepper and Stone is there. But we weren't, Tony was in a casino gambling with two girls on each side. I was behind the gathered crowd, keeping Tony in sight. I sighed in dismay sometimes I was more mature then my boss... ok a lot of the time I was.

"Hello Penny," a voice spoke behind me. I spun around to see Rhodey standing behind me holding Tony's award. "Rhodey," I nodded to him in greeting. "I tried to get Tony to show up."

He just shook his head. Tony was impossible sometimes. "I know you did. Let's get him out of here."

I smiled at him, happy to leave this alcoholic smelling place. I watched amused as Rhodes confronted Tony and walked him out the door... after a battle of the wills that Tony only surrendered to after my name was dragged into the conversation.

Even though Pepper wouldn't say it, Rhodes told me that since I appeared Tony became easier to handle, slightly.

Now Pepper and Rhodey both knew Tony's weakness that would get him to be agreeable eighty percent of the time. Me, they just had to bring up how this was effecting me, or how I wasn't happy here, etc. and Tony would give in. I had apparently wormed my way into his iron heart, even if he would never admit it.

Walking to the car with Tony and his little team of body guards or what every they were, I couldn't help but scowl as a reporter ran up to Tony. After giving the blonde my worst glare, that caused her to glance at me worryingly before starting her 'interview' with Tony, I got in the car and blocked out the conversation. Or I did until the mention of my name caught my attention. Listening closely I wondered what type of conversation I was being brought up in... and slightly worried about that too.

"-Penny Telnets and you true?" I heard the blonde reporter said. I rolled my eyes, '_not that rumor again'_.

"Now why would I date my assistant? There is no relationship between us, and I can prove it to you if you'd like." I heard Tony say smoothly.

"Oh?" she asked, flirting with him; causing me fake gagging. "And how are you going to accomplish that Mr. Stark?"

_'Great'_ I thought to myself. _'More trash to take out in the morning.'_

* * *

The next morning, at six o'clock A.M. I locked the door to my apartment and entered the elevator. Sighed as I looked around the shabby street that I called home. My apartment wasn't in the best neighborhood, but with Grandfather's money nearly gone, and all of the medical bills to pay, I could barely afford the buss and the apartment I was staying in.

Tony's paycheck was quiet large, and it was definitely a bonus to working with him. The bills probably should be paid off in a few months. I'm not sure if Tony knew I was living there, but I knew the chances were slim.

After Mom died I wiped myself off of every computer server I could find. It took me four days to do it undetected, but it was worth it. There was no electronic record of me anywhere, or the real me at least.

My birth certificate was gone, my hospital records were gone, and so were my schooling records. According to the electronic world, I didn't exist. Hard copies of those records still existed, but there wasn't much I could do about that. I also had a worm program running that monitors the computerized world and pulls anything down that is related to the old me, even mentions in passing.

The information about the 'new' me, the one that works for Tony, is kept up, though it is closely monitored. Though I really didn't like being plastered all over the media I knew that it would be a side effect of working for Tony, it was worth it, and it could be worse.

The 'new' me had fool proof, or as fool proof as I could get it, history fabricated in case anyone looked me up. The new me still had some true facts about me, home schooled my whole life, was accepted into the online branch of M.I.T., and is a certified genius, though that was hidden more carefully and you really had to look for that fact to find it.

Personally, while having two identities was slightly frustrating and had disadvantages, the advantages it had, like being with Tony, was well worth it.

After the buss dropped me off a half a mile from Tony's, I started walking towards his house. It was about seven now, and I had a few things I needed to do before the trash was taken out. I walked through the house when I arrived, and out onto the back sundeck, it was one of my favorite places to work. One of the main reasons was it was outside, and I loved being outside.

I opened my laptop and got to work. Tony has asked me to upgrade Stark Industries Fire-Walls and electronic security for all the files. Now the programs they had were some of the best in the world, but on my level, they were insignificant, or to a hacker of my level though I have never encountered one.

Tony had given me the pass codes for the main frame network, though that wasn't necessary, it was helpful and thoughtful.

The first thing I did was install my own personal firewalls behind the company's existent ones and started scanning every file and program I had access too. I was mostly making sure there were no worms, leaks, ghost drives, or anything else that shouldn't be there. This was only a temporary thing, I wouldn't be able to have them completely up until I accessed the physical hard-drive and mainframe. This would be enough for say, a few months, but what I was currently doing was limited and not as efficient. At least to my standards that is.

As I watched the numbers dance across the screen I let my thoughts wander. One year ago today was the day that marked the change in everything. I wouldn't be here if I never had my epiphany that started this all. It was strange, that day had started out normal, and it had changed everything.

I had a feeling that history was going to repeat itself; and I hoped that it would be nothing bad. Unknown at the time, I had just jinxed myself.

* * *

Sometime later, my stomach growled pulling me out of my thoughts and pulling me towards the kitchen. As I walked back into the house, leaving my laptop running on the deck chair, I saw Pepper talking to the reporter who was wearing nothing but Tony's button-down shirt.

As I watched them interact I couldn't stop smirking, Pepper really knew how to deal with these girls, and had Taking out the Trash down to an art.

As soon as she said, "- including taking out the trash.

I walked in pretending I had no clue Blondie was there. "Pepper do you have that... oh I'm sorry." I said smirking, "I didn't know you're taking out the trash."

I said nastily, it was fun to irritate the Trash. So did Pepper apparently, if her smirk was anything was to go by.

Oh I love my life


	3. Full Time Job

**The Unknown Variable**

**Hey, back again. First I would like to thank those who have fav. Or followed my story and to my first reviewer! Ya! Oh, I haven't mentioned this before but this is AU, it will be following the movies but it is AU... if that made any sense to you... pat yourself on your back!**

**On with the Show!**

**I do not own anyone but Penny, they belong to Disney and Marvel and later, JK Rowling.**

* * *

Music blared loudly as Pepper and I walked down the stairs, the trash taken care of and my program running smoothly, Tony was working on one of his cars as the earsplitting music pounded across the garage/lab.

As Pepper typed in the code for the door I turned down the music. Pepper was on the phone while I was carrying a clip board with papers that Tony had to sign.

"Please don't turn down my music." Tony said not paying us any mind as he continued to work.

"You," Pepper said as she hung up the phone, "Are supposed to be half way around the world right now."

I quickly grabbed my vibrating phone as Pepper took care of some resent business with Tony; I was trying my best to reassure Rhodey and the jet's pilot that Tony would be arriving soon.

"Your flight was scheduled to leave an hour and a half ago." Pepper informed Tony as I hung up on an upset Pilot.

"And your Pilot isn't very happy 'bout that." I inserted quickly.

"That's funny; I thought that with it being my plane and all it'd just wait for me to get there." He replied, still tinkering with a car engine. "The Pilot as well;" He added for my benefit.

"Tony, we need to talk to you about a couple of things before we get you out of here." Pepper said as I stood next to her, waiting for the right time to step in. After all Pepper had been dealing with Tony much longer than I had.

"I mean doesn't that kind of defeat the whole purpose of having your own plane if it departs before your arrival?" Tony asked wiping his hand on a cloth and standing up.

I rolled my eyes as Pepper walked Tony through a new deal updates before I walked up to Tony and said, "I need you to sign this before you get on the plane," As I handed him the file of papers.

"What? You got plans?" Tony asked raising his eyebrow as he signed the papers.

"As a matter of fact I do." Pepper said, I sighed quietly, Tony couldn't even remember her birthday.

"I don't." I replied, Tony flashed me a smile before turning back to Pepper.

"I don't like it when you have plans."

I snorted and said "Not everything is about you Tony." Tony ignored me but I saw Pepper's lip twitch upward.

"I'm aloud to have plans on my Birthday." Pepper told her boss.

"It's your birthday." Tony said, totally clueless, I shook my head sadly; this wasn't going to end too well.

"Yes," Pepper replied sadly, though I wondered why she was sad about it being her birthday, was it because Tony forgets or something else.

Tony was still clueless as he said, "Already?"

"Yes isn't that strange? Same day as last year." Pepper said smiling lightly, with a touch of sarcasm under her words.

It took all my will power to keep from laughing my head off right there and then. But I couldn't stifle a chuckle that thankfully went unheard by the elder pair.

"Ok, get something nice from me." Tony replied flippantly.

"You could always get her something yourself." I spoke quietly, backing away slowly. I was thankful that the pair didn't hear me and I was able to dash up the stairs as my pocket vibrated.

Pulling out a small black cube out of my pocket, it resembled an IPod, but it was anything but.

I quickly pressed two buttons on the screen before walking into the bathroom. My copper colored curls were hanging freely around my face.

I quickly placed the small black cube in-between my teeth and pulled my hair back, placing the cube on the hair I wrapped it around before tying it back with a rubber band.

Now, not only was it hidden, but my hair was in a nice but messy knot on the back of my head with a few strands of hair framing my face.

I had a feeling I was going to need it; and one thing that I have learned is to trust my instincts.

About twenty minutes, two annoying phone calls, and one Tony check later, Pepper and I were standing in the hall, waiting for Tony.

I don't like the Jericho missile; it was most likely the one weapon out of the Stark collection that I hated the most. I didn't like any of the weapons Tony made in truth, there was so much potential that could be used to create better things then just warheads. But of-course, it wasn't my place to tell Tony, or try to influence him in anyway

No, until the time was different, my job was to do whatever Tony told me to, and step carefully.

"Penny," I turned towards Pepper who was standing right beside me.

"Ya?" I responded, jolting out of my thoughts.

"I know that you won't like this, but... I want you to go with Tony. Someone needs to keep him out of trouble." Pepper told me, I didn't want to go, but you can rarely talk Pepper out of an idea.

"Pepper, I have three meetings and conference calls today that we just can't..." I protested, but she interrupted me.

"Already taken care of. Please, just try to keep him out of trouble." Pepper pleaded with me. "But also... keep yourself safe." She said before turning back towards her phone.

"_Wow, she must be really worried." _I thought to myself before nodding and sighing.

Why did I have such a bad feeling about this?

* * *

I looked out upon the scenery speeding by; Tony and Happy were racing... again. We finally got Tony looking presentable, when he was practically crying because he favorite car he wanted to drive wouldn't start.

They didn't know what was wrong with it, and it would take longer than we had to fix the problem. Pepper suggested that he just takes another car, but Tony looked like a two year old whose balloon just popped. It was sad and funny at the same time, while Happy and Pepper tried to get Tony into a different car; I got behind the wheel and turned the key.

They car didn't start, so, after making sure that no one was noticing, I turned the key again, but this time my fingers alighted with tiny sparks.

With a loud roar the car came to life, Tony was practically crying with happiness.

"How did you fix it?" He managed to choke out as he got behind the wheel and Happy in his car.

I shrugged before answering, "It just needed a special touch." Then, sadly, I got into the car alongside Happy and sat in silence as they sped off.

I had put my Laptop, which would be done with the programs within two hours, in Tony's workshop. While I trusted Pepper, I didn't want anything happening to it while I was gone.

Rhodes was not happy when we finally arrived at the jet. Tony just brushed him off as he entered, and I rolled my eyes at his antics.

"What are you doing here?" Rhodey asked me as I entered the plane.

"Keeping an eye on him." I responded jerking my head towards Tony.

"Well, good luck with that." He told me before going and sitting with his friend.

I sat in the back of the plane, away from Tony and Rhodes, since Pepper had cleared my plate for the day, I had nothing to do.

Pulling out my small glass tablet that Tony made for me, I plugged in my ear buds and was lulled to sleep by the engines of the jet

* * *

_Grey mist swirled around me, everything was hidden from sight, I didn't know where I was, or how I got there._

_Suddenly the mist was filled with voices, some loud, some soft. All speaking at the same time, I could only make out a few words here and there._

**Flash**

"_- surely you can stay... the children need you-"_

**Flash**

"_-Agents report to the Bridge... please Lynx reconsider-"_

**Flash**

"_-Custos, please, I don't understand-" "You shall, someday,"_

**Flash**

"_-get your chance,-"_

**Flash**

"_Trespasser!"_

**FLASH**

"_You don't have to do this alone!"_

"_-, it's so much more than just a Title."_

**FLASH**

"_I never asked for this!"_

"_But they choose you, you are their Master now."_

_**!FLASH!**_

* * *

I awoke with a start, my heart thumping and gasping for breath. I looked around to see if anyone had noticed I was awake. But Tony and Rhodes were both drunk on the sofa, the attendants dancing in front of them.

Sweat dripping down my face I stumbled into the bathroom. My reflection in the mirror was pale and shaken, looking like I had awoken from a nightmare.

"What on earth was that about?" I quietly asked myself, I couldn't remember much about the dream, but the voices couldn't stop flickering through my mind, haunting me, reminding me.

When I was younger, I was haunted by horrible nightmares every night. But ninety-five percent of the time, I could not remember them.

Eventually, my doctors gave me some medication to keep the dreams at bay. Ever since Mom died the night terrors stopped. They just disappeared; and I hadn't had one since.

I didn't know why they came back now of all times, but when had anything ever been easy for me? I walked out of the bathroom to see Rhodes completely out of it, the girls still dancing now tipsy, and Tony pouring himself another glass.

"Penny!" He slurred as he spotted me, "Come and sit with us, you look like you could use a drink."

I looked at him incredulously, and seriously questioned his sanity. I walked over and literally shoved the wobbling women out, to their dismay and protest.

"Ah, no, I think you've had enough." I said as I took the bottle of scotch off the table and holding it behind my back as he tried to grab it from me.

"Hey...give that back." Tony cried as he tried to grab the drink from me but landed on his face.

"Give it to me! I'm your boss!" Tony said as I walked away from the sad sight.

"Sorry Mr. Stark, but I don't think so; you need to be at least semi sober when you give your presentation." I told him, walking around the downed Stark and dumped the contents of the bottle down the toilet. I only called Tony Mr. Stark when we were ether out in public; he annoyed me, or when he pulled the 'I'm your boss' card.

"Hey!" He yelled once again in protest when I returned the empty bottle back to him. "That was my favorite bottle!"

"Well tough," I told him before walking back over to my seat.

I saw out of the corner of my eye Tony glaring at me. I ignored him, and put the ear buds back into my ears as I took my tablet out of my purse. Weird nightmares or not, I had a job to do, and Stark Sitting was a full time job

* * *

**Hey Guys, I know this was a little short, but I updated right, so be happy! Anyway, I couldn't get my novel done in time... there was a lot more work needed than I thought. So while I'm bummed about that I know that it'll be better when I do get it done. Yes I know, I switched the Xover to a different category, but I got this amazing idea... and I think it will be worth it. Though nothing really Xover like is going to happen until we get to the Avengers part of the story.**

**If anyone can guess some of the 'scenes' that appeared in Pen's dreams you get a super soon update.**

**;)**

**I hope everyone had a happy Holidays.  
Cp**


	4. Why oh Why Pepper

**The Unknown Variable**

**Hey all, I was extremely happy with the traffic this story has been getting, I guess changing the X over was a great idea. I am glad you all are enjoying this, and thanks to all of you who favorited/followed/reviewed. :)**

**I am also surprised that none of you figured out the dream... or at least the last part. But oh well, makes the plot more surprising! Which is fun for me. XD**

**I would just like to point out that while some of the things Penny is doing is not realistic for our world, this is AU, and this is for fun; and when you have fun or in a alternant reality anything is possible. Penny isn't a Mary Sue, she does have her own problems and faults; but this is just the 4th chapter so they haven't played a big part yet. (Though they are rearing their ugly head in this chapter)**

**Also, this isn't going to be a perfect story, for me, this is fun; and while I take my writing very seriously and put a lot of effort into it, this story is more of a hobby then a novel I'm trying to publish or something of that sort. Personally I am not going to fine tune it as much as I will/would my other novels/stories that I am writing for real and not on FF.**

**Sorry for the long AN... I do not own anything besides Penny, Marvel, Disney, and JK own everything.**

**On with the show!**

* * *

"So how's the presentation going? Please tell me he's at least slightly sober?" Pepper asked over the phone.

I was standing in the sand, behind the crowd of military personnel that was watching Tony's presentation.

"Yeah, he is, I had to dump his bottle of whiskey on the way here to keep him that way though." I said, raising a hand to block the sun from my eyes. Why hadn't I brought sun glasses?

"You did what?!" Pepper shrieked from the other end of the phone, causing me to pull it away from my ear. "Penny! You can't do that!"

"Um... why not?" I asked the older woman, she wasn't my boss.

"Penny, whether he acts like it or not, Tony is our boss. We can't just do whatever we want, he could fire us." I turned away from Tony and Pepper's voice became fuzzy as the large shock wave hit me.

Squinting my eyes to keep the sand out I replied, "Seriously, I doubt Tony is going to fire me."

"Penny, this is not about wither or not Tony would be willing or not to fire you. You can't just go around doing whatever you want. There are moral lines, and some lines you just don't cross."

"Pepper," I sighed, hadn't we covered this last time? "I know what I am doing."

"I'm not so sure you do. You are acting like a child Penny." Pepper snapped over the line. "And as long as you act this way, I am going to treat you like one."

My eyes narrowed at her words, and I snarled back in return. "Last time I checked, Pepper, you aren't my mother."

I could practically see Pepper wince; the echoes of our last argument obviously still fresh on her mind.

"Penny... just be careful. You don't know everything." Pepper sighed tiredly as she hung up.

I placed the sleek phone back into my pocket as I shook my head, no matter what she thought, I knew what I was doing.

* * *

**a few weeks ago**

I was sitting on a rotating chair down in Tony's lab, Tony was in a board meeting, much to his despair, and I was tinkering with a few random things that had been just lying around.

Pepper was also at a meeting, though not the same one as Tony, so I had the house to myself, or more importantly, the lab and Jarvis.

"Now, I want all of these files to remain hidden and encrypted, do you understand. I don't want Tony to get even a hint that they exist and you may not tell him, is that clear?" I asked, twirling a pen in between my fingers.

"Of-course Miss Penny… but may I ask why you wish to hide this information from Mr. Stark?" Jarvis' voice echoed though the garage.

Rolling my eyes I replied, "You know why."

"Yes," Jarvis agreed, "But wouldn't it be more productive to inform your…"

I interrupted, glaring at the ceiling, "Jarvis do not bring it up again or I will hack you."

"That shall not be necessary." Jarvis replied, and you could practically hear the quiver in his voice.

"Now I want all files on Howard and Tony Stark in Howard's later years." I quipped, drifting off into thought.

"_Now, let's see if there is anything in here I didn't already know..."_

A few moments later I found myself surrounded by holographic and physical files, news articles, computer logs, company contracts, and blue prints; most of them centered around Howard, but a few on Tony as well.

"What," I asked myself softy in surprise "is this?"

Floating in front of my face was the original Ark Reactor blue prints. But that wasn't what surprised me, for I had seen what I thought to be the original before… no what surprised me is that there was another name besides Howard's on the blueprint.

"Well, it looks like Howard's skeleton closet isn't as empty as I thought…" I mused to myself; I wonder what other little secrets he had that never saw the light. "_Besides me of-course."_

I was staring at the hologram, wondering what the story was behind Howard's ghost partner when it hit me. My brain froze, my eyes widened, and I gasped. I suddenly saw just what I was looking at, and what I could do.

"If I decrees the level… and double the rotation… it'll increase the stability, and double the power!" I smiled widely to myself as I turned my attention to the Stark A.I.

"Jarvis, order the materials." I told him as I typed in the correct amounts of what I needed.

"How shall this be delivered Miss Penny?" Jarvis asked.

"Just randomly mix it in with the supplies Tony ordered to be delivered within the week. Lock that information down as well, I don't want even the slightest hint about what is going on to get back to Tony." I said, and started clearing away the Holograms.

"And just what, is going on you don't what Tony to know about?" I twirled around at the sound of Pepper's voice, to see her standing a few feet behind me… and not looking too pleased with me.

"Pepper…ah…how long have you been standing there?" I asked, rubbing the back of my neck, while covering the files on the desk with some random documents and dispersing the remaining holograms.

"Not long. Now answer my question. What did you do?" She snapped at me, obviously the meeting had been less than pleasant and my suspicious actions pushed her a bit too far.

"I don't know what you're talking about, I am just working." I said smiling lightly knowing that all the files were safely tucked away… well the digital more so than the physical ones though.

"Don't lie to me. Now tell me what you were doing!" Pepper hissed at me, her hands on her hips and her lips set in a line.

"I was working!" I snarled back at her, "_Who does she think she is?"_ I thought to myself.

"I don't believe you!" Pepper stated angrily.

"Well I don't care!" I yelled at her, crossing my arms in front of my chest. "I can do whatever I want."

"No, no you can't Penny, and that's something you just don't understand! You're a child! You can't go around doing whatever you want whenever you want to! You shouldn't even be working here. You're acting like a wild child!" my eyes narrowed as Pepper finished her rant.

"_How dare her!" _ I fumed silently.

"I'm acting like a wild child?" I hissed. "I've behaved properly and have done everything Tony has said since I've arrived here!"

"You should never have arrived here! This isn't a job for a child! You aren't doing this for money or whatever reason you gave Tony! What kind of teenager wants to work here? Or work anywhere for that matter!" Pepper yelled, I didn't know what her problem was, but something was bugging her.

"So what! So what if I want to work here! I'm not normal! I thought you would've noticed that by now! I'm _happy_ here! I get to spend time with someone who _understands_ and _thinks_ like I do! And I AM NOT A CHILD!" I finished yelled, I came here to get to know Tony, and she was NOT going to ruin it for me.

"Yes, yes you are! I don't care what the legal papers say! You are a child! Someone has to take care of you…" I interrupted Pepper with a growl, she was entering my _dare not mention zone_ of topics.

"I can take care of myself! YOU AREN'T MY MOTHER!" I screamed, my hands clenched at my sides, small blue sparks dancing around my fingers.

"Well someone has to be, for obviously you need one." Pepper insisted.

I narrowed my eyes at her and hissed, "My mother is dead Miss Potts, and she was nothing like you."

I turned on my heel and marched out of the room, not noticing the flickering lights, or Peppers hurt face.

* * *

The memory of that fight still made me angry, Pepper and I had barely spoken since, not that we spoke a lot before; and when we have to talk to each other, we pretend nothing ever happened.

I followed Tony as he grabbed another drink out of the tricked out icebox. "I'll be throwing one of these in with ever perches of 500 million or more." He said as he walked off, drink in hand.

I rolled my eyes as he toasted to peace, Tony just didn't understand the impact he really had on the world. There was just so much he could do for the world that didn't involve explosions and death. I glared at the phone in Tony's hand, or more so the person on the phone.

I never did like Stane, he gave me the creeps and something about him just put me off. I shivered as Tony mentioned pajamas to Stane, and I noticed that Stane was in bed… and his top was bare. I shivered again. That did not bring up pleasant images to my teenage mind.

I was glad when the call ended and Tony got into the van, I moved to get in with him but stopped as he shut the door and Rhodes appeared.

"Hey, Tony…" Rhodey started but Tony interrupted him… again.

"I'm sorry; this is the 'Fun Vee' the 'Hum Drum Vee is back there." Tony said, looking at me and Rhodes. Obviously he still wasn't happy with me dumping his drink on the plane.

I watched as Rhodes shook his head, "Take Penny with you then." He insisted.

I rolled my eyes again, wondering if it was for my benefit or Tony's. Tony shot me a look, which I let a small frown appear on my face, before he sighed dramatically and said,

"Fine, get in." He opened the door and stepped out, letting me sit in the middle between Tony and the soldier.

"Nice job," Rhodey said, shooting me a small smile, "See you back at the base."

The silence was awkward as we drove down the sandy road, ACDC playing in the background at Tony's insistence. I swear that he has some strange obsession with that band.

The soldier next to me kept shooting Tony glances every few seconds, and it was taking all my will power to keep from snapping at him.

I almost sang when Tony broke the silence, "I feel like you're driving me to a court-martial."

I snorted into my hand quietly, only Tony would say something like that.

"This is crazy. What did I do?" He asked looking around. "I feel like you're going to pull over and snuff me."

I let out a small giggle at this, causing Tony to shoot me a large grin before continuing. You have'ta love Tony.

"What, you're not allowed to talk? Hey, Forrest!" Tony called to the soldier next to me.

"We can talk, sir." The soldier responded to the billionaire.

"Oh I see," Tony said, looking out the window, he was being a total drama queen; "So it's personal."

"_Good God Tony,"_ I thought to myself.

"No, you intimidate them." The driver told Tony, I only raised my eyebrow at her voice. I hadn't noticed the driver was female but then again, I was paying more attention to Tony than the front two soldiers.

"Good God," Wow, we are alike; "you're a woman. I honestly… I couldn't have called that. I mean, I'd apologize but isn't that what we're going for here? I thought of you as a soldier first…" Tony kept on rambling.

I had to wonder, if his mouth moved that fast, how fast did his brain have to move to keep up? Or was it the other way around?

The female soldier interrupted him though, "I'm an airman."

Tony just kept on going, could nothing faze him, I mean really.

"You have, actually, excellent bone structure, there." Tony told the airman...woman. "I'm having a hard time not looking at you now."

I inaudibly groaned, "_Now is not the time to flirt." _

"Is that weird? Come on, it's okay, laugh." Toney said with a devious grin, causing all the weird tension to melt and the soldiers and airman to smile and laugh.

"Sir, I have a question to ask." The soldier in the front seat next to the driving airman asked.

"Yes, please…" Tony answered, and it only occurred to me that he was only doing all this

because of how board Tony must be.

The only reason that _I_ wasn't board was because I was paying so much attention to the situation… hmm I wondered if Tony knew he was saving me from boredom as well.

I wouldn't be surprised, it was Tony after all.

I groaned loudly as I heard the soldier's question "Is it true you went 12 for 12 with last year's Maxim cover models?"

Tony took off his sunglasses as he answered, "That is an excellent question," he shot me a glance, letting me know that he heard my groan, before continuing. "Yes and No. March and I had a scheduling conflict, but fortunately, the Christmas cover was twins."

"Anything else," Tony asked as the soldier next to me raised his hand slightly, man they must really respect him to be reverting to school boys… or be scared of him ether one worked.

"You're kidding me with the hand up, right?" Tony asked giving the soldier a look.

"Is it cool if I take a picture with you?" he asked timidly. Ok, Tony did not need that ego boost, but man these guys must really admire him.

"Yes." Tony replied. "It's very cool."

The soldier had a large grin on his face as he pulled out a camera and handed it to his friend.

"All right," Tony said as they both leaned over me so all three of us were in the picture… great just what I needed. "I don't want to see this one your MySpace page."

"Please, no gang signs." Tony said completely serious as he soldier held up the two finger 'peace' sign.

The peace sign was dropped until Tony said, "No, throw it up. I'm kidding." I didn't think Tony was kidding, I just think he was keep up the 'millionaire nonsense man' act.

"Yeah, peace. I love peace, I'd be out of a job with peace." I contemplated if I was the only one who heard the sarcasm or if I was imagining it from being around Tony for so long... alright not that long but still.

"Come on," The soldier pushed, "Hurry up, just click it. Don't change any settings." I couldn't help but agree, I wasn't in the best position being squished between two fully grown men, and I was starting to feel uncomfortable... ok I was uncomfortable.

Just as he was about to snap picture there was a large explosion, and my eyes widened as the jeep in front of us blew sky high.

Of-course something was going to go wrong, what a great idea for an presentation in an active war zone…

I looked over at Tony, his eyes were widened slightly and I could tell he was shocked and unsettled, even though he was trying to conceal it.

"What's going on?" Tony asked the obvious, as one of the soldiers yelled, "Contact left!"

"What have we got?" I knew that Tony was talking about weaponry, for that was his specialty. But I had a feeling that Tony wouldn't be very much help in a run fight… and I really didn't want to get involved unless I had to.

The airman opened the door and tried to get out but what shot instantly, "Jimmy, stay with Stark and the girl!" the soldier in the front said.

"Stay down!" the soldier next to me, Jimmy I guess his name was, pushed me and Tony down in our seats.

"Yeah," Tony said as he was pushed down, his eyes flickered to me for an instant before back at the action outside of the van.

My eyes were wide and I hoped that they ddn't know Tony and I were here… though some part of my mind told me that it was pointless to wish this, that this ambush was because of Tony.

Tony and I watched as the soldier go the hood of the car and started firing before he was shot, and blood streaked the windshield.

I winced in my seat, while the blood didn't unsettle me, the fact that the two people who not even thirty seconds ago were right in front of us in the car alive where now face down in the dirt dead disturbed me greatly.

"_Why the hell Pepper did you make me come?" _ I cursed in my mind, but then again I wouldn't want Tony to be alone in this situation ether.

"Son of a bitch" Jimmy shouted as he loaded his gun, Tony was looking around frantically, obviously no longer trying to hide how scared he was.

Jimmy jumped out of the van as Tony shouted, "Wait, wait wai, give me a gun!"

I looked over at my boss in confusion, did he even know how to work a gun?

"Stay here!" Jimmy ordered through the door.

But just as he turned away the whole van wall was covered with bullet holes, making me jump and Tony wince.

Tony looked around, trying to figure out what to do as his gaze fel on me. For a moment I tried to picture what I must look like to him. Scared, probably wide eyed, and looking just like the young girl I really was. No matter how much I didn't like it.

Another explosion happened outside, rocking the jeep.

Grabbing my hand, Toy jumped out of the car, dragging me with him, was ducked as more bullets flied past our heads.

We stumbled and ran though the bullet fire, ducking every two seconds to avoid being shot, Tony had let go of my hand only to grab my shoulder. He was holding on to me tightly, I had a feeling that if we ever got out of this alive than it would bruise, if we survived that long.

Our eyes squinted as the smoke stun our eyes. I was trying to pay attention to what was going on, but it was just confusing, the loud noises were not helped by my heart pounding in my ear.

Tony jumped behind a bolder, pulling me with him as bullets landed just where we had been a moment before.

Tony let go of my shoulder for a moment as he caught his breath, before frantically pulling out his phone, he sat up straighter behind the rock. Another mask falling into place as the dialed Stane, I wondered if it was even a conscious doing anymore.

Just then there was a loud **swish, **and **thunk** Tony and I looked over to see a Stark Industries bomb on the ground not even four feet from where we were hiding.

Tony's eyes widened as he recognized the bomb, I didn't know which one of his weapons it but obviously I didn't want to be anywhere near it.

Then it all seemed to happen in slow motion.

I pushed Tony sharply back and raised my hands but just as it exploded Tony jumped in front of me at the same time as a net of blue electricity sprang to life; surrounding me and where Tony had been.

I let the makeshift shield die as I looked down at Tony; he pulled back his shirt, reviling a bullet proof vest, with blood seeping through.

Tony blacked out pretty quickly, and a sharp blow hit me on the back of the head, sending my world into darkness.

* * *

**Hey, Sorry for lateness, well I would explain but… well let's just say that I've lost practically all control over my life in the last two weeks. Yeah, so no clue how often I'll update but I'll do my best. **

**Special thanks to my new beta Expecto-Prongs. Anyway, hope you liked the chapter, and the next few Chpt.'s will be covering Penny's past, and who she really is *evil grin* personally, I'm looking forward to that.  
Happy Easter if you celebrate,  
Cp**


	5. Not Another

**The Unknown Variable**

**I, Cry-Pom, own nothing; it all belongs to Disney and Warner Brothers/JK Rowling. Though I own Penny, I do not own the world she exists in, though I am responsible for the twists and turns done here.**

* * *

I wasn't sure what happened after I lost consciousness. I remember blurs of men in my vision and being pushed in front of a camera angrily, but that is all I could remember until I awoke from my strange dreams, to the worst thing I had ever seen.

* * *

_"There is a reason you were chosen, young one. You hold much power, never doubt that."_

* * *

I sat up quickly, my breath coming in short gasps, the previous dream faded from my memory as I tried to recall it.

I was lying on a small cot, it took a few moments for my eyes to adjust to the low level of light, but when they did, I gasped.

I was in a cave, and on the other side of the room a man was operating on Tony. I quickly stood up, ignoring the pain behind my eyes and had to stop as the room started to spin.

I stumbled over to where tony was laying on the table, his chest cut open and covered in blood.

Deep fear gripped my heart as I looked down at Tony; the man operating hadn't noticed that I was awake. My eyes wondered to the corner of the stone room, and I gasped and choked back a sob. The only time I had ever seen anything that scared me so much was when my mother had been given a week to live.

* * *

**About a year ago**

_I slowly entered the room, being careful not to jolt the wires keeping me alive. After the last twelve years of being hooked up to this machine, I had moving around with it down to an art._

_I was terrified at what I might find in the white room. Ashley had told me she was in here, and had something to tell me. Ashley's eyes had been red and she looked at me with that pitying look that most of the staff gave me._

_Ashley was the only one who treated me normally, besides my mom, and for her to have that look in her eye was not a good sign._

_The door slid open, allowing me to enter. The TV in the corner was silent, and the only noise in the room was the heart monitor and the IV drip._

_Mom was sitting up in the bed, her eyes locked onto mine as soon as I entered the room. She had been waiting for me. Her eyes held tears that she was struggling not to release, but as I sat down on the edge of the bed one lone tear fell down her face._

_"Mom," I whispered, as if I was afraid that speaking loudly would only bring the bad news sooner. "What did the doctors say?" I asked, looking into her dull hazel eyes._

_Last year, Mom had been diagnosed with Terminal Leukemia, and had been fighting for her life since. Mom had moved into the hospital permanently, selling most of her things so she could pay the climbing medical bills. Now we both lived in these white halls, both on the edge, the only difference was that they knew what was wrong with my mom._

_They barely knew what was wrong with me._

_Mom's bright brown hair had fallen out because of the Chemo, and her tanned skin was now as pale as mine. She looked like the life was being sucked out of her. In a way, it was; the cancer was eating at her from the inside out._

_"Sweetie, they… they gave me a week… the treatment just isn't working." Mom whispered softly, taking my hand in hers. I slowly nodded, my face a blank mask. But inside I was screaming my head off, why? After all this time? After everything that we had gone through, why?_

_"I'm so close mommy," I whispered softy, tears falling from my eyes. "We were going to get out of here; we could have been a real family."_

_Mom pulled me into a weak hug, tears silently streaming down her face. "I know honey, I know." She pulled back so I could look in her eyes, "I want you to promise me something."_

_"Anything," I said. I would do anything, but what could I do without her?_

_"Finish it, finish it sweetie and get out of here. Have a life, and enjoy it." Mom told me, her hands squashing mine weakly._

_I nodded, resolve and dedication rising up in me. I would finish it, and I would live, for her._

_"There is one more thing I want to ask of you." She whispered, I looked up at her blurred image, my tears ruining her face._

_"What?" I asked my mother._

_"I want you to find your father." She said, looking at me straight in the eyes._

_"But…" I paused "I thought he didn't know about me?" I looked at her confused._

_"He doesn't, but he should know you and see what a special girl you are," Mom said, pushing back a strand of hair from my face._

_"I…I promise Mom." I whispered. We fell asleep in each other's arms soon afterwards._

_Two days later, Evanna Ellyn Grace passed into the world beyond. I had been in my room, working on my project. I had just finished the blue prints and equations, and had run into her room to show her just as her pulse died._

_The doctors failed to revive her, and had to restrain me as I cried out for her. As the doctors accidently pulled on my wires I lost consciousness, but not before my eyes locked onto the only other person in the room._

_A male figure cloaked in black, with pale grey skin and dark black eyes and hair, stared at me. In his hand he held a glowing white orb. He looked at me once more, this time in pity, before fading into the shadows just as the room went black._

* * *

In the far corner stood the same black figure that had been standing there when my mother died. It was no coincidence. It was a sign, one that Tony was dying.

I stared at the figure in defiance. I wasn't going to let Tony die, not if I had anything to do about it.

I walked up to the man and asked, "What can I do?"

He looked up at me in surprise, before nodding in acceptance.

I had already lost one parent, I wasn't about to lose the other as well.

* * *

**I know, short, sweet and a cliffy, but hey. I got it done. It's my fastest update in about a year so YAY! Thanks again to my Beta, and all of you who Fav/Followed and reviewed, you make me very happy.**

**Kappa Taicho: Ah, now I can't tell you that *wink* it would ruin it for everyone else. But I am thrilled that someone caught on!**

**More revelation to come, the next few chapters are all of the big reviles, so hang on, and have fun, I sure am!  
Cp**


	6. My Life is Messed Up

**The Unknown Variable**

**_Nothing belongs to me, but little Penny, Disney and JK have that wonderful pleasure._**

* * *

I don't know when the dark figure in the corner disappeared; all I remember is him smiling at me sadly.

I've questioned my sanity many times, wondering if he was only a figment of my imagination. But truthfully, it did not matter one way or another if I was sane or not. I was going to follow my mother's last request, even if Pepper and other people didn't like it.

Sadly, we didn't have any anesthetics so Tony was awake and screaming a lot more than I would've liked. But thankfully, whenever Yinsen wasn't looking, I would let my blue electricity spark between my fingers and I would give Tony a small shock at the base of his neck to help dull the pain. I assumed it helped because whenever I did Tony would fade back into unconsciousness for a while.

It was all I could do to hope that Tony didn't remember any of this. Because I sure as hell wished that I didn't.

Yinsen had introduced himself as I helped operate on Tony. He had also explained that the battery he was using to power the electro magnet would only last about a week.

I had paused in thought when he said that… and he asked if I knew of a better way to power the magnet. I lied and told him I didn't. I would only tell if Tony didn't figure it out before the week was up.

Tony didn't like having answers handed to him, he liked to figure out problems for himself, and this would be the biggest one yet.

He also made a comment that made my eyes widen in surprise.

* * *

**Sometime before**

The magnet was in place, after many hours of bloody work that I was sure to have nightmares about, and I was helping Yinsen wrap Tony's chest.

"You look like him." Yinsen said suddenly. Before that we had mostly worked in silence. A few words had been exchanged here and there but we had kept a soft silence between us, until now.

"What?" I asked, shocked and confused, momentarily pausing in my work.

"You resemble your father greatly, unless I'm mistaken. He is your father is he not?" Yinsen asked me, talking in tone one would use when describing the weather.

My eyes widened as I looked at Yinsen's face; I wondered how he made the connection between two people he never met, when people who had known Tony for years had never pieced it together.

"He… he is, but how do you know?" My voice was full of suspicion and fear, wondering what would happen now.

"It is obvious, if you look close enough. You have the same eyes, nose and you get your curls from him as well. To most, your hair would direct the attention away from the obvious likeness. But I have good eyes and steady hands, and I notice these things." Yinsen said simply.

I was still frozen in shock, no one had ever said I looked like my father before. Sure Mom had told me I had his eyes, but everyone else I met had always said I resembled my mother most.

"Don... don't tell him. Please, he doesn't know." I finally said sending a pleading look to my fellow captive.

Yinsen stopped what he was doing and turned to me, "You would let a dying man stay in the dark about the knowledge that he has a family?"

His words hit me hard. It really wasn't fair to keep the information from Tony, and I had been wanting to tell him for a while, but I didn't want him to hate or abandon me like my mom and grandfather always feared he would.

I just wasn't sure enough of myself to tell him.

"I'll tell him, but you have to let me do it in my own time." I said to the man, looking down at my father who was lying asleep on the cot.

"I can respect that." Yinsen nodded, "But if you do not tell him, then I will."

I nodded and sighed. When had all my plans collapsed? I didn't know, but all I knew was that the game had changed, and so would the play.

* * *

I was brought out of my thoughts by Tony waking up. I looked at the man who was my father, and I was so happy that he was alive that I forgot that he didn't know. But how was I supposed to tell him now?

I couldn't just walk up and say "Hey Tony, I'm your daughter. I wanted you to know in case they kill us."

Oh yeah, that would be such a great conversation.

I watched quietly as Tony noticed the hole in this chest, and couldn't help but suppress a wince.

Soon, Yinsen was cooking dinner; I was sitting next to Tony on his bed. Only after Tony woke up did I remember the cube hidden within my hair, and was thrilled to discover that it was still there. I had pulled my hair down and hid the cube in my sleeve; I didn't want it to fall out and loose it, or have it discovered.

"What the hell did you do to me?" Tony asked, using a small mirror to look at the thing in his chest.

"What I did?" Yinsen asked him, looking up from the mush that was dinner. "What I did is save your life. I removed all the shrapnel I could, with your young assistant's help of-course, but there's a lot left, and it's headed to your atrial septum. Here, you want to see? I have a souvenir. Take a look."

Yinsen picked up a small glass bottle and tossed it to Tony. Tony was staring at Yinsen with thinly concealed shock, but he caught the bottle anyway.

As Tony examined the bottle Yinsen said, "I've seen many wounds like that in my village. We call them the walking dead, because it takes about a week for the barbs to reach the vital organs."

"What is this?" Tony asked a defeated look on his face. I put my hand on his arm in comfort but he shook it off, refusing to acknowledge me.

"That is an electromagnet hooked up to a car battery, and it's keeping the shrapnel from entering your heart." Yinsen told him, stirring the glop in the pan.

Tony shifted uncomfortably and zipped up his jacket, shooting even farther away from me. I shot him a small confused glare. He was ignoring me for some reason, surely he wasn't still mad about the plane ride?

Tony swallowed as he noticed the camera in the corner. There were quite a few cameras on the walls that I had noticed during Tony's operation, but I had also found a blind spot.

Yinsen also caught Tony's gaze and told him, "That's right. Smile."

I wanted to say something to Tony, but I also felt that I should stay quiet. What was I supposed to say to my boss who was also my father who didn't know that I was his daughter; and that we were both most likely going to die here?

_'Yup, my life is totally messed up. That didn't even make sense to me!'_

"We met once, you know," Yinsen said, breaking the silence and Tony's dark thoughts. Usually my father had some kind of mask on, keeping his feelings hidden deep down, but now they were showing... and I could tell that Tony's thoughts were anything besides happy. "At a technical conference in Bern."

"I don't remember." Tony said absently, shooting another look at the camera.

"No, you wouldn't." Yinsen said, causing Tony's attention to fall back onto the man as he continued. "If I had been that drunk, I wouldn't have been able to stand, much less give a lecture on integrated circuits."

"Where are we?" Toy asked softly, his previous attention no longer on Yinsen.

Just as Yinsen went to answer, voices came from the other side of the door, along with loud banging.

"Come on" Yinsen spoke quickly, quietly, and with fear. "Stand up, stand up!" Tony got to his feet as I jumped to mine, I grabbed Tony's hand on reflex but instead of shaking me off he gave my hand a light squeeze.

"Just do as I do," Yinsen hissed grabbing Tony's arm and pulling him a bit closer to the door.

"Come one, put your hands up." He hissed as Tony looked at him as the door opened.

My hands quickly went behind my head, but I didn't want to let go of Tony's hand. I know that it sounded childish, but I really wanted some assurance that everything was going to be ok... as ok as it can be in this situation.

I let the small cube slide down my sleeve and settle into a hidden pocket (more like a hole) on the outside of my bra.

Three men entered the room, two of them held guns and were flanking the middle heavy-set man.

"Those are my guns." I heard Tony mutter besides me, "How did they get my guns?"

I nudged him gently, aware that his chest was still sore, to get him to be quiet, now was not the time.

Yinsen had heard him through and said urgently, "Do you understand me? Do as I do."

The large middle man opened his arms and started speaking in another language, and I only barely caught the words '_Tony Stark'. _As he finished his speech he nodded to Yinsen for translation.

I turned my attention to Yinsen, but kept my eyes on our captors as he said, "He says, "Welcome, Tony Stark, the most famous mass murderer in the history of America.""

Our captor started talking again, and motioned for Yinsen to translate. "He is honored."

More of the different language filled my ears, and I wished I knew how to speak anything other than English; it would come in handy right now.

My eyes narrowed slightly at our captors as I listened to Yinsen translate; I knew this wasn't going to end well. There wasn't much I could do either in this enclosed space, we were too outnumbered and Tony was too injured to fight.

"He wants you to build the missile; the Jericho missile that you demonstrated." He handed Yinsen a photo of the Jericho, and said "This one," as he showed it to Tony.

I tore my gaze away from the men towards Tony, and I had a feeling that he was going to be hard-headed. But that wasn't what we needed right now. What we needed was some cunning,

"_Come on dad, tap into your Slytherin side." _I thought to myself before mentally freezing in shock. _"Where the hell did that come from?"_ I silently wondered.

I had no clue what a Slytherin even was, and my eyes narrowed in thought. The word seemed familiar, but at the same time, something completely new. Like a dream you forgot long ago.

There was a pregnant silence as we all waited for Tony to answer. My breath caught as behind our captors, the black figure reappeared, his face showing his worry.

Dread instantly filled my stomach. If the shadowy figure was worried, this was not going to end well.

"I refuse." My heart almost stopped at my father's words, and my blood ran cold at the look that came over not only the large man's face, but the black figure's as well.

But it was the figure's look that scared me the most; it was one of complete fear. But what did he have to fear?

Our captor waved his hand and Tony and I were yanked forward, fear now openly on our faces.

* * *

I screamed and yelled as I was once again pushed below the water. I had lost all sense of time long ago.

My lungs were tight with pain, and my fingers were sparking uncontrollably in response to my pain and panic, causing the water to be shocking my core.

Large waves of pain washed through my body as I soon became even more soaked. I had never been submerged in water before; I had never even taken a bath.

A large scream echoed through the cave as I was let back into the air, my back arched in pain and tears streamed down my face. Not for the first time, I wished that I had never been born.

Every nerve was on fire as I struggled to breathe; I could barely make out the dark figure at the edge of my vision. Strangely, I focused on him, as he was the only thing I could clearly make out.

I was back under the water once again and I struggled not to breathe, but I had lost almost all control over my body long ago. My lungs tried to take in oxygen, and burned as water filled my lungs.

My head swam and my vision faltered, I could hear my heart beat pounding in my ears. I didn't think I was going to survive.

Then, he was there, beneath the water with me, his face inches from mine. He reached his hand out, and my struggling stopped just for a moment as his cold, soft hand touched my face, and my vision faded to black.

* * *

**Hey all, I hope you liked it, and thanks to all you wonderful people, you make me super happy when I see all the emails sitting in my inbox. I know, not as much of a revealer as last chapter, but it was longer! So that's good. Special Thanks to my Beta, Expecto Prongs, who is wonderful.**

**To the reviewer who said that, that was death, good eye. It wasn't that cryptic but I'm glad you caught on.**

**If any of you are waiting for an update for Sophi, well I'm trying, but this is just easier to write because it is less complicated. But don't worry I'm working on it.**

**Huh, 0.o, the first rainfall of the year just turned to snow… its April… in the south-west… this is beyond weird… O.O**

**Oh well  
Hope ya'll enjoyed the ride,  
Cp**


	7. Death

The Unknown Variable

**I own nothing; Disney and JK have the entire claim, so go bother them.**

_I was standing in mist; everything around me was blurry and unclear. I did not know where I was or what was going on._

_There was a loud bang, followed by a flash and I was suddenly in the dark as the black figure appeared once again._

_"Who are you?" I asked, although it didn't sound like my voice._

_'I have many names.' An echo of a voice flowed into my mind; the figure was just standing there. Its grey eyes locked onto mine. 'But you know me as Death.'_

I drifted in and out of consciousness a few times, barely long enough to open my eyes before I fell back into the land of nod.

When I finally regained consciousness, I was laying on the floor back in our cave prison.

A soft groan escaped my lips, my body felt like it weighed a thousand tons and my eyelids felt like they were glued shut. Another groan escaped my lips as my eyes fluttered open.

I was lying down on the dirt floor; my hair was still damp so I couldn't have been laying here long.

I slowly was able to raise my head and look around. Tony and Yinsen were nowhere in sight and panic flooded me as I pondered their fate.

I took a deep breathe to calm down, they needed Tony alive, and I hoped that nothing would happen to the older captive ether.

My fists clenched in the dirt as I slowly and painfully pushed myself up into a sitting position, my chest flared with pain as excess water shocked my core once again.

The flash of pain dragged the memories back into the surface and I felt my chest contract with panic, my mind being pulled back into the past. My breathing quickened and my eyes clenched shut as I struggled to keep the memories at bay. After a moment my eyes reopened as I was able to push the memories back into a distant corner in my mind for the moment.

A soft cry of pain escaped my lips, and my eyes darted to the cameras around the room, I didn't want them to see me, I just wanted to be left alone. I noticed that they had dumped me on the far side of the room, right in front of the corner that was the blind spot of the surveillance cameras.

I gritted my teeth and slowly managed to scoot over to the corner, I leaned against the cold stone as I tried to catch my breath.

A tear escaped my eye before I could stop it and the next thing I knew I was silently sobbing into my arms, hugging my knees to my chest. Memories flashed through my mind, all of them were disjointed and muddled, as my brain naturally tried to dim them.

After a while my sobs subsided and I realized that I was no longer alone. As a hand touched my shoulder I jerked back, scraping my arm on the stone and banging my head in the process.

My eyes snapped open at the pain, expecting to see Tony or one of the captors, but instead the figure was back. He was kneeling next to me, his grey eyes wide in concern. His eyebrows knitted together in a silent question, as his eyes conveying the silent message of 'are you ok?'

I was too shocked to move, my dream floating to the top of my mind. He had done something, something that helped, I think.

"Who are you?" I echoed my dream. My voice was rough from all the screaming, and my throat burned as the words passed through my lips.

I thought I saw a flash of pain enter the figure's grey eyes before it was hidden once again. A small smile appeared on his lips as he nodded his head slightly towards me, as if saying, 'you know me'.

A small frown appeared on my face as I asked softly, "You're Death, aren't you."

He replied with a simple nod of his head and a real smile played on his lips for a moment before disappearing once again.

"Can you talk?" I whispered, shocked that I was talking to, or hallucinating about, I wasn't sure, Death, actual Death personified.

His lips narrowed into a line and he appeared to be concentrating, trying to find a way to answer my question silently.

He nodded slightly, but then paused half way and shook his head. "You can but you can't?" I asked, trying to clarify.

He waved his hand in a 'go on' gesture and I continued, my brain going a mile a minute.

"You can talk… but not in a way that I'd understand?" I asked softly after a moment.

Another smile and nod was my answer.

"If you're death," I started, hoping to not anger the entity, "Then why are you helping me?"

A strange look came over Death's face, before a cryptic smile appeared and he looked at me silently saying, 'that's for me to know and you to find out.'

"I'm not dead am I?" I knew it was a silly question the moment it passed my lips, but come one, you meet death and that has to be the natural response.

I knew I was wrong though, when Death burst out into silent chuckles, shaking his head amusedly.

"Thank you," the almost silent whisper passed my lips before I even knew what I was saying. Death, in response, softly patted my arm.

We were silent for a while; I found that while he was around my thoughts couldn't stray towards what happened. Every time they tried to push their way to my attention a cold chill would send them back down. I knew that Death had something to do with it, but I wasn't sure just what he was doing, why, or if he even realized he was doing it. But whatever it was, why ever he was doing it, I was thankful. For just a moment, it kept the monsters at bay.

I was started out of my thoughts; I might have fallen asleep… I didn't know, unaware of how much time had passed, by a large commotion coming from the other side of the large metal doors.

I pressed myself back into the corner, desperate not to be seen. As the door slammed open Death disappeared into the shadows. I didn't know if others could see him or not, but I thought it was wise for him to vanish.

Tony stood up from his cot he must have returned when I was sleeping, and I almost ran up to him, wanting to make sure he was ok. He look tired, and sore, but I could tell by the gleam in his eye that he had a plan.

I stayed in my corner as the room was flooded with the captures. Tony started directing them and ordering them around; Yinsen, whom I was also glad to see alive, and for the most part, well, was translating for him.

I closed my eyes at all the noise, it was bringing back the painful memories of the water. I curled back into myself, wishing, hoping with every thought, that I wouldn't be seen.

The most surprising thing that happened during that time, looking back, was that I wasn't seen. No one took any notice of me until the room was set up, and it was only Tony, Yinsen and I alone once again.

I slowly lifted my head from my knees, which I were still hugging to my chest, and peered around. I must have fallen asleep, if the creak in my neck was anything to go by.

Tony was sitting on his small cot staring at his hands, and I say Yinsen asleep on his own cot on the other side of the room.

I slowly stood up, my arms now hugging my chest. My legs screamed in protest as I tried to stand. I didn't know how long I had been sitting there, but I knew that between that, and the resent torture, that I wasn't in good shape.

My belly rumbled, also reminding me how I hadn't eaten since before the plane ride, however long that was ago.

I slowly walked towards Tony, I was shaking slightly and my head was still pounding but I knew that I had to talk to him; only for my own sake, but for his as well.

I sat down on the cot next to him, and he didn't even notice me until I slowly reached out and touched his arm.

He whipped around his eyes wide in panic, terror in his eyes. It took a moment for him to recognize me back as soon as he did he calmed down noticeably.

"Are you ok?" Tony asked his eyes now wide with worry. I silently wondered what I must look like to make his so worried. _'Probably like hell.' _I thought to myself.

"As well as could be expected." I said hoarsely, my lips were chapped and they cracked when I talked, I must have been in that corner for a while.

"What did they do…where have you been?" He asked, his dark brown eyes wide, they were the same shape as mine, though mine were a different color.

I swallowed, I was hoping he wouldn't ask, "I've been in that corner," I pointed over to my hiding place, Tony's eyes darted over to the corner before coming back to meet mine, "And…as for… well…" I stuttered, trying to push back the memories, I silently wished Death was here to make them go away but I knew that I was going to need to deal with them… but I just didn't want to.

"Let's just say I'm not having anything to do with water ever again." I winced as the memories flooded my mind, and I hoped that he wouldn't push it.

Tony nodded, and by the pained look in his eye I had a feeling that he went through the same thing I did… then I remembered that his chest was open and was not water proof, and winced. That must have hurt just as back as my Core getting wet did.

"But…" Tony started as he pushed his own pain back as a strange unease entered his eyes, "they did…do…any…" I could tell Tony was incredibly uncomfortable with the conversation.

I wondered what might make Tony uncomfortable and then my eyes widened as realization came upon me and I shook my head fiercely.

"No, nothing like that." I reassured Tony as he breathed a sigh of relief. I could tell that he had been worrying over that for a while.

"Are you ok?" I asked him softly my blue eyes widening. A bitter laugh escaped Tony's lips as he shook his head.

"Why?" He asked his eyes focused off in the distance.

"Why what?" There were a lot of 'why' questions that Tony could be asking right now, and I needed to know which one he was talking about.

"Why don't you hate me?" He asked me, his dark eyes locking into the identical, but lighter ones.

I literally flinched in shock, I was appalled. I would _never_ hate Tony; he was the only family I had left.

"Why on _earth_ would I hate you?" I asked, not bothering to hide the shock in my voice.

Tony looked back to the wall as he answered bitterly. "This is my fault. The only reason that you were there was because I let you get in the Humvee with me, you wouldn't have been in the gun fight or a captive of terrorists…"

"Nor would you have been tortured if I hadn't just left you alone. I shouldn't have given you the job, Pepper was right… I should have said no…" My eyes widened with tears at Tony's words.

If Tony had never given me the job…I don't know what I would have done.

"Pepper was right… I'm a bad influence and shouldn't be around you…" Tony was now muttering, completely caught up in self-loathing.

My gaze hardened as I heard Tony say those words. I had no idea that Pepper ever said that to him, but I wasn't surprised.

"She was not." I hissed, and he jumped in surprise and looked at me with wide eyes. He was shocked at the venom in my voice.

"This. Is. Not. Your. Fault." I growled at my father, "and don't you ever say that! I don't even want to imagine what would've happened if you hadn't hired me. So don't even think that."

"What happens happens, I learned that long ago; and self-pity doesn't change anything! Been there done that. We're captured, ok, we've been tortured, whatever, you have less than a week to live, get over it! What are you going to do about it?" I snapped at him, if we were going to get out of this alive then Tony needed to get his head on straight.

Tony started to protest; I grabbed his arm and pulled his around to meet my eyes. I glared at him and growled, "What are going to do about it?"

After a moment of silence Tony's gaze hardened and he said with determination, "I'm gonna show them why you don't mess with a Stark."

I smiled at him and nodded, "And I'm going to help."

While it wasn't the conversation I was planning on having, it was definitely one that we both needed; and that was alright with me.

**Hah, another chapter done. I'm glad that you all are enjoying this so much! I have so many fav/followers! XD **

**To the reviewer (who will most likely not read this) that this was too much of a Mary Sue/OC/Fem-Harry (as far as all of you know) for you, and I am sorry. I'm trying to keep it realistic but at the same time AU/OC… so I apologize, but each of us has our own things we like in a story and I am sorry you feel that this story was not the one for you. But hey! Can't please everyone!**

**Thanks to my Beta once again,  
Cp**


	8. A New Trick

**The Unknown Variable**

(I fixed the mix up in chapters! didn't mean to re-post 7! thanks to Angel-Hime-Chan who caught the mistake!)

**Hello people and other beings from earth and beyond, yes I am in a good mood thank you for asking,**

**Penny snaps, "We didn't ask!"**

**Cp rolls her eyes: "Oh be quiet, you're spoiling my mood!"**

**Penny huffs: "Good!"**

**Cp glares at her screen: "What's got your knickers in a twist?"**

**Penny: "You didn't write anything for my story in a week!"**

***Blue portal opens up* Sophi: "She has barely written anything for me in two months!"**

**"This isn't your story so stay out of it!" Cp snaps at the intruder.**

**"Fine! I know when I'm not wanted!" *Sophi leaves through blue portal***

**"Drama queen, the lot of you… since when do I create drama queens?" Cp asks.**

**"Since you're on a sugar high." Black cloaked girl states, leaning on the edge of the shadows.**

**"I am not!" Cp protests,**

**"Sure… that's why you're fighting with your own creations." Penny drawls.**

**Cp glares at both girls before saying to the black cloaked one "Do you have to corrupt all the newbies?"**

**"Yes, it's the only entertainment in here." Black cloak girl replies.**

**"Well get out of here… you don't even have a FanFic." Cp sighed, "This is going to go on for a while… I knew I shouldn't have eaten all of that sugar…**

**I do not own anything that JK and Disney have claimed only, I only own my own insane creations…"**

**Many cries of "Hey!" echoed through the air.**

Tony and I had been working for hours, although we did stop and eat, by the time Yinsen got up. It had taken a while for the idiots that held us captive to get us everything we needed, but once we had most of it, we set to work.

Tony wasn't telling me what we were doing though. I knew that we weren't making the missile, for Tony would never let that happen, but I hadn't been included in the planning processes. I understood he didn't want anything to go wrong or for the idiots to find out the plan.

Night and day no longer held any sort of change to us in the caves. Bright lights were on when we worked, and off for the few random hours that we decided to rest. I ignored my aches and pains, and although I knew that working so hard wasn't good, I didn't care.

Tony was tinkering with a missile; I was standing behind him, out of view of the cameras. The small cube was once again in my fingers, and I just needed the perfect opportunity. Tony wasn't the only one who could come up with plans.

"How many languages do you speak?" Tony asked Yinsen randomly or seemingly randomly, but almost nothing is random with Tony… I learned that a while ago.

"A lot." Yinsen answered simply, watching Tony work with interest, not many people got to see Tony Stark in action.

Tony's eyes flickered to the older man for an instant before returning to his task.

"But apparently," Yinsen continued, "Not enough for this place. They speak Arabic, Urdu, Dari, Pashto, Mongolian, Farsi, Russian,"

Tony looked concentrated as he pulled the guts of the missile out, "Who are these people?" He asked putting the missile innards on the table.

"They are your loyal customers, sir." Yinsen replied and I couldn't help but wince, he wasn't going to like that… hell I didn't like that. "They call themselves the Ten Rings."

_'Ah… so these idiots __**do**__ have a name…'_ I thought to myself as I watched Tony. I had decided that insulting the captives was better than fearing them, and it kept the memories at bay.

I wondered how Yinsen hadn't noticed, or if he just didn't want to comment on how Tony was mostly only using one hand while the other was on his stomach. I sighed as I looked at the cube in my hand.

About an hour after Tony and I talked, more of the Ten Rings goons came in and grabbed Tony. I had flattened myself up against the wall, memories of the last time I saw them coursing through my mind. They hadn't noticed me.

Tony was pushed back into the cave about an hour or so later, but he wouldn't answer my question if he was alright or not; and I didn't push.

Now Tony favored his left arm, even though he was right handed, and he moved carefully, as if his midsection was in pain. I wished that I knew how to help.

I sat down on the floor practically under the table, grabbed the corners of the cube in my hands and pulled the corners apart.

They separated easily, a thin plastic sheet folding out between them; a second later I had my own personal tablet sitting in my hands.

The thin clear plastic screen dully glowed to life and small blue holograms danced across the screen. This was only a prototype, but I hoped to present this as my senior project to my electrical engineering and physics teachers.

I kept one ear on the conversation going on above me as I played around on the small hovering screen. Tony had his plan, and I was going to have my own.

Silence echoed through the cave for a while, my tablet was constructed for stealth, so the glow was extremely dull and it admitted almost no noise as it possessed. What I needed, was a way to better control my sparks, while my core stabilize them so they were controllable, I needed a way to use them in a tight situation.

"You know," I heard Yinsen say some time later. No one had noticed me for a while, and I wondered if this was natural or something to do with my sparks. "We might be more productive if you included me in the planning process."

"AH!" I hissed in pain as my core flared in my chest. I doubled over in agony, my brain freezing and my fists dropping my tablet that instantly shrunk back into the cube onto contact with the floor. As the pain flared all of my aches and pains that I had been ignoring also came rushing back to my attention; causing me to feel as if I had been run over by a truck and then fallen off of a forty story building.

I sat up as the pain dulled; the water must have damaged the core more than I thought, I would have to look at that… my breathing was labored as I saw Tony casting me a worried look.

'Where have you been?' He mouthed to me; he was kneeling on the floor working on something, I had been in his line of sight for a while now… but he only saw me once I was distracted. Was this something to do with my sparks?

'I've been right here.' I mouthed back, sitting up and brushing hair from my face.

Tony raised his eyebrow in a silent question but let it drop, he stood back up and pulled another missile's guts out. He was looking for something, that I was sure of.

I looked down at the miniaturized tablet sitting in front of me. My mind was running faster than you could comprehend as my eyes widened in realization.

If my sparks had evolved enough to create as shield, then they could also evolve to create a shield that shifted the light spectrum around an object.

I focused my gaze onto the cube as my hand alit with electricity. The normally blue bolts dulled to a pale white color as I focused my full attention on the cube.

My eyes twitched in strain and my chest ached, my damaged core struggling to obey my commands. A pale bolt of electricity jumped from my hand onto the dirt floor and the cube vanished from sight.

I gasped in shock and the cube reappeared. A large grin appeared on my face, now I have another trick up my sleeve.

I watched Tony pull a small bit of mettle out of the guts before tossing most of it away.

"What is that?" Yinsen asked Tony.

He was looked at the small bit of mettle with a peeved look on his face before looking up at Yinsen and holding up the scrap of mettle.

"That's palladium, 0.15 grams." Tony answered, his gaze focused on the small mettle bit. "We need at least 1.6, so why don't you two go break down the other 11?"

A wide smile appeared on my face, and my core problems left my mind, I had a feeling I knew exactly what Tony was doing… I had done it last year myself.

I helped gather the bits of palladium and watched as Yinsen melted them down. As he lifted the molten palladium out of the fire with tongs I was hovering by his side just in case.

"Careful," Tony said, hovering over Yinsen's other shoulder, "Careful, we only get one shot at this."

"Relax," Yinsen said, trying to reassure Tony, "I have steady hands."

I had to agree with this statement, watching him work on my father. I shuttered, pushing the bloody memories back, now wasn't the time.

"Why do you think you're still alive?" I glared at Yinsen at this comment as Tony swung the car battery onto the desk.

I watched with attention as Yinsen carefully poured the palladium into the red power.

"What do I call you?" Tony asked, watching Yinsen's actions just as intently.

I shot Tony a small smile, he must have decided to trust the elder man, for names aren't important to Tony unless you are; and nick-names showed the level of trust Tony held. Names meant were very important in the Stark world.

"My name is Yinsen." He replied as he finished pouring the liquid.

"Yinsen," Tony repeated, "Nice to meet you."

Yinsen shot Tony a bemused glance before smiling at me and saying, "Nice to meet you too."

The melted palladium had given me an idea. Palladium had the potential to generate and hold a lot of power, and I was surprised I had forgotten about the mettle that I owed my life to.

I had slid back into my invisibility, which I had discovered was actually a this electrical field that surrounded the object, or me, and bent the light around me, fading me from view. That was my theory anyway, and my theories were usually correct.

I had pulled another 2.7 grams of palladium out of every missile that I could find, it wasn't much, but it would suffice, for now.

Now I hovered over Tony's shoulder, Yinsen on the other side of my father, we watched as Tony pulled a ring of hardened Palladium out of the compacted powder, before placing it on a disk in his hand.

I had become Tony's second set of hands, we worked together, even though Tony never verbally told me what we were constructing, I had recognized the design immediately. Tony had looked at me in confusion at how I always had what he needed next in my hand. It had become a habit when we were working in his lab back in Malibu, but here, as far as he knew, I hadn't a clue as to what he was doing.

I watched with a small as the mini Arc Reactor flickered to life, casting the pale blue light around the cave.

Tony looked at the small power source with a strange look on his face, and I knew that he was thinking something along the lines of, 'this will be keeping me alive for the unforeseeable future,' and probably many other things I couldn't hope to comprehend.

Yinsen appeared next to me, and gazed at the small light in wonder and confusion. "That doesn't look like a Jericho missile." Yinsen commented his eyebrows knitted in confusion.

"That's because," Tony stated, "it's a miniaturized Arc Reactor." I nodded as Yinsen glanced at me with a contemplative look, and I knew he was remembering my hesitation during Tony's operation.

"I got a big one powering my factory at home." Tony continued "It should keep the shrapnel out of my heart."

I snorted, there was no 'should' when Tony Stark is involved.

"But what could it generate?" Yinsen asked him.

"If my math is right," Tony stated, "and it always is," Before Tony could answer I interrupted.

"At the current palladium core size, it'll generate three gigajoules per second." I finished for him; he shot me a strange, slightly annoyed look which I just smiled at in return.

"That could run your heart for fifty lifetimes." Yinsen said flabbergasted.

"Yeah, or something big for fifteen minutes." Tony said, and at that, I knew he was going to share the game plan.

"It does have many uses." I agreed, thinking about my own core.

**That's where I'm cutting it off, just because it is already six pages and I am deliberately keeping these updates short.**

**You all are making me so happy! Soooo many people fav and following! I am glad you all are enjoying it.**

**For those of you who are anxious about the Hp factor… well… I know you'll hate me for saying this but you'll see.A**

**Thanks to my Beta, Expecto Prongs,**

**Hope you all enjoyed it,  
Cp**


	9. Stark

The Unknown Variable

**Nothing that is recognizable from any published or known work belongs to me; JK Rowling and Disney have that privilege.**

**Enjoy**

Tony walked over to a table where he laid multiple sheets of thin parchment down. Yinsen and I were hovering by his side, eager to see what the genius was planning.

Yinsen picked up the parchments, trying to decipher what secrets they held… or understand what the random sketches meant. As Yinsen put them back down I was able to see more of the sketches though the paper because of the back light.

"Clever," I commented to Tony, who gave me a small smile before saying,

"This is our ticket out of here."

Yinsen looked confused and expectantly at Tony, waiting for an explanation. "What is it?" He asked.

"Flatten them out and look." Tony replied, and I immediately did just that, beating Tony by just a millisecond.

The escape plans were now clear, the huge crude metal suit looking up at us from the table. I let out a low whistle, even in a cave I should have expected something like this from Tony.

Noticing the obvious circle in the chest, I knew that the Reactor was going to be the power source.

"Oh," was all Yinsen could say in his shock, "Wow, impressive."

"Well," I said, looking up at the older men, "Let's get cracking!"

The first thing on our to-do list was get the Arc Reactor into Tony. I went to help Yinsen, but Tony had glared at me and told me to wait on the other side of the room.

I had glared at him but complied, Tony hadn't wanted me exposed to anything more than I should. He was protecting me, and I wondered how much he was shielding me from.

The Ten Rings still came every once in a while, you could barely tell an hour from a day here, and took Tony away.

Every time he was gone, it was too quiet in the cave. Yinsen tried to make conversation, but I would just ignore him, lost in my worried thoughts or working on my own plans. When Tony came back, he ignored me and just went back to work… or collapsed on his cot unconscious, but the second one only happened a few times.

I tested a few more theories out while Tony got the Arc Reactor inserted, like how long my invisibility could last, or if the palladium could actually hold my sparks. Both, I had discovered, were an advantage. From what I could tell, I was able to hold the invisibility as long as I concentrated, or wasn't shocked out of it.

The palladium did indeed hold my sparks, I had set a small piece on the floor, and while my invisibility was up, and sent a bolt of electricity at it. The palladium had absorbed it, and was glowing slightly. I fed it more of my blue bolts and it had soon become a metal bit within a whirling storm of electricity. I could pick it up safely, but the sparks in my hand flared and it shoot across the room and hit the wall with a bang, leaving scorch marks in its place.

"Penny! Are you ok?" Tony called over from the table, and I could hear the worry in his voice that was barely masking the pain. It was the first time he had said my name since the plane ride… as far as I knew.

"I'm fine," I called back, my mouth twisted into a frown.

Tony was soon done and I realized that the Ten Rings goons were even more idiotic than I thought, they never even came to investigate the bang.

Now that Tony wasn't in danger of dying, the real work would begin.

Tony and Yinsen were talking in hushed whispers, obviously discussing something that they either didn't want me to know about, or the Ten Rings. Personally I hoped it was the Ten Rings and not me that they were keeping things from.

"…you're insane, the cameras catch everything!" Yinsen hissed to my father.

'_We Starks never claimed to be completely sane.'_ I mentally responded, half wishing to say it out loud.

Before Tony could retort I said quietly, "I might just have a solution for keeping pesky little eyes out of our project."

Tony spun around, obviously not knowing I was there, and replying "How?"

A wide smile appeared on my face as I said, "Leave that to me… just make it look like you're working on that missile."

I stood directly below one of the cameras and shifting into partial invisibility, or at least what I hoped was partial. In theory, since my electricity could create an electric field that hid me from sight, then I should be able to create one that only hid me from cameras; a field that emits the right frequency that blocks the camera's abilities to see me.

I opened up my tablet, and I saw Tony watching me out of the corner of his eye even though he and Yinsen appeared to be working.

I quickly tapped into the camera and started recording, after about an hour of footage, I spliced it into smaller segments and then set it on random rotate before wirelessly hacking into the camera above me and started looping the film.

I repeated the process with the other cameras and soon we were free from all flies on the wall.

"Done," I said tiredly as I put my pad, still open, under a lamp. The charge was full and would last a while, though not forever. But I could trick the solar charge for a bit with a bright lamp.

"Why didn't you tell me you had that… and where did you get it?" Tony asked me, well, demanded really, but I pretended he asked nicely.

I shrugged and replied, "Didn't want to get caught with it… and I created it." I replied before turning away from him and started working on the suit, Yinsen and Tony soon following.

Yinsen caught my eye once Tony was occupied once again, and mouthed, 'You need to tell him, or I will.'

I sighed; I had no clue how I was supposed to tell Tony that he was my father.

It was some time later, and Yinsen and I both convinced Tony to take a break. Not to mention that my Tablet needed to charge and I didn't want the loops to play for too long, lest someone noticed.

I was fiddling with my bits of Palladium; I really wanted to melt them down, but couldn't do it with Yinsen and Tony around. So I improvised by crushing each bit into as much of a sphere as I could, and used my sparks to weld them together. It was crude, but it hopefully would work.

Yinsen and Tony were playing a game that I couldn't remember the name of, but I knew it was annoying Tony not being able to work. He looked a lot better since the Arc was place; he shaved and didn't look as hackled as before… though he still looked like he had seen better days.

"Good," Yinsen said as the dice landed on the small board, "Good roll, good roll."

"You still haven't told me where you're from." Tony commented, lifting the top of a nearby teapot to see if there was anything left within.

"I'm from a small town called Galmira. It's actually a nice place." Yinsen replied.

"Got a family?" Tony asked, and I was surprised, small talk was never something Tony took part in… as far as I knew anyway.

"Yes," Yinsen replied, still looking at the board, "and I will see them when I leave here."

Something about the way that he said that struck me as odd, but I dismissed it as a man missing his family.

"And you Stark?" Yinsen asked, shooting me a look, I narrowed my eyes, silently warning him. If he blew it before I could explain…

I couldn't see Tony's expression, and part of me didn't want to, but the silence that followed that question was heavy, until Tony replied lowly,

"No."

"No?" Yinsen repeated, shooting me a look. He obviously was wondering what the full story was. He only knew what he guessed and observed which wasn't a lot … I hoped.

"So, you're a man who as everything," He paused for a moment, catching my eye, "and nothing."

I knew Tony noticed Yinsen's not-so-discreet look at me, but he didn't turn around. Guilt flared up in my chest, but so did all of uncertainties… all of my insecurities came rushing back, but I pushed them away. I would talk to Tony when I was ready…

Yinsen must have noticed something from my expression because he glared before opening his mouth to say something.

'Fine' I mouthed to him, he snapped his mouth closed and nodded to me once before standing up and walking to the other side of the cave to give us some sort of privacy.

I sighed as I walked over; I had practiced this talk many times in my mind, each one different, with different reactions from Tony. In other words, I had no idea how this was go; I was terrified.

I sat down besides Tony; I was looking down at me feet, avoiding his gaze. There was an uncomfortable silence, before I spoke, barely above a whisper.

"I never told you much about my past," I stated, and in that instant I had Tony's full attention. He peered at me with a curious expression. I took a deep breath before continuing, "My mother and father were young when they first met, about eight years old at the time and became best friends. Over the years though, as they both grew, they became so much more.

"They started dating when my mother was sixteen and my father almost seventeen. My father had gotten into university early, and my mother was so proud. She thought that he was going to propose."

I looked at Tony out of the corner of my eye; he had a pained expression on his face, most likely thinking how, to his knowledge, my story was so similar to his own.

"But they were young, and weren't exactly careful, so my mother became pregnant. We were never sure how my Grandfather," I spit out this word as if it would burn my tongue, "on my father's side, found out, but before Mom ever got the chance to tell my father the news, he took her aside, and told her … ok … he threatened her to leave.

"He was determined that my father was not ready for a child, and it would only ruin his future. Grandfather was a very powerful and influential man, and my mother was terrified that he would do something to her and the baby, so she staged a huge fight with my father, right as he went to propose, and left."

I couldn't bear to look at Tony, to see if he had put the pieces together yet, and now that I had started I couldn't stop until the whole story was out.

"Grandfather died before I was born," _'thankfully' _I added silently "but he was a drunk, and in those months before he died, every time he was intoxicated, he would write my mom and me letters, horrible letters, that I wasn't supposed to read." I admitted that part.

Mom had always tried to keep me away from Howard's letters, but I had found them when I was ten, and the contents had made me cry for a week.

"The only good thing he ever did was set up an overseas trust fund for me and my mom, but the trust came with a clause, she had to never tell my father about me, or we would lose the money.

"Mom didn't care at first about the money, and was determined, once she heard that he died, to tell my father, but she didn't. I wasn't the healthiest child growing up, and she needed the money to take care of me. She was stuck between telling my father and keeping me well.

"About three years ago," I continued, my voice low, "Mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and she made me swear, on her deathbed, that I would find my father and somehow fix what was done."

I managed to look up into Tony's gaze. His eyes betrayed his thoughts, his mind had put the pieces together, but his consciousness refused to acknowledge what was right in front of him.

I squeezed my eyes shut, fighting back tears, and I pulled my tablet out of my sleeve, and opened it up.

"I never showed you a picture of my mom," I tapped two icons, and a headshot of my mom appeared on the screen. It had been taken four years ago, right before she was diagnosed. Dr. Millod, the doctor who had been practically my father growing up, had taken the picture.

It was in the hospital gardens; Mom was leaning on a maple tree, the green leaves framing her figure, making her eyes sparkle. It was one of the only times I saw my mom completely happy, without the pained echo in her eye.

"My name really isn't Piper Penelope Telnets," I continued, my voice becoming choked, _'he's going to hate me'_ I saw Tony look at me in surprise.

I silently handed Tony the Tablet, "My mom's name was Evanna Ellyn Grace," I heard Tony gasp in recognition of both the name and the picture.

Tears were starting to pool in my eyes as I continued, "My real name is Penella Piper Maria…" I paused as watched as Tony stood up at the sound of his mother's name and walked off, not even letting me finish.

"Stark." I whispered softly to myself, silent tears now streaming down my face.

**You all can hate me all you want for cutting off there… but you don't have to wait long, I'm updating pretty quickly…**

**(sorry for the long wait, I was at camp last week and then the stupid computer decided not to work for me)**

**oh and so you know I am currently (almost) always two-three chapters ahead of where you all are… yup, so most of the wait is just on my Beta getting the chapters back to me.**

**To the reviewer Sarahh12 (from a while ago) who I could not reply to because the PM feature is turned off, what did you mean when you said 12k?**

**Thanks for all of your guy's (and gal's) dedication to this story.**

**Cp**


	10. My Core, a Curious Thing

The Unknown Variable

**_ (6/24/13)This chapter has been Beta'd_**

**I do not own anything that has been in films, I only own the creations of my own imagination, so go bother someone else.**

* * *

I was back in my corner, my invisibility was up and Death was with me once again.

I had faded from view as soon as I was out of sight from the cameras; once I was invisible Death had reappeared at my side, his silver eyes widened with sorrow for me.

He stayed in silent company as I worked with the Palladium, molding them into small balls. I hadn't even gotten to tell Tony everything, and he already hated me.

Tony hadn't said a word to me since our talk, and since the concept of time had vanished long ago, I have no idea how long it's been. I can tell it's been a while since the Ten Rings have taken Tony eight more times and personally checked on us twice.

Yinsen and Tony are still hard at work. Tony must have figured out that Yinsen knew something concerning our relationship, for he has barely talked to him ether. Yinsen apologized quietly for pushing the matter the one time that I became visible, when Tony was too distracted to notice, or so I hoped.

I just brushed it off and said it would have happened eventually.

Death helped me feel better; being a silent companion I could count on, my only friend.

I barely slept or ate, not that I had before the incident, but I was sleeping and eating even less now. Death was worrying about me, I could tell that much. I didn't stop, I kept the video looping as often as I could, and I slowly figured out how to charge and control the small electricitic balls.

I couldn't really practice, but I hoped that if needed, I could cause come serious damage to the Ten Rings.

* * *

I placed the small twisted bits of Palladium in front of me; I had created seven balls, twisted and melted together by my sparks. Death had left recently, and I was inspecting my core.

Trying to repair my core was something I had been doing since my talk with Tony. But the damage from the water and the strain from my new abilities were taking its toll. The skin surrounding the core was raw, irritated, swollen, and a light grey color. Another reason I had not slept was that too much movement or pressure on my chest or back sent me gasping and twitching in pain.

I looked at the battered device in my hand, the glow was now only a faint white color, instead of the bright white-blue that it always had been. I knew it was dying, but I didn't have the equipment to repair my own Reactor, my core… it was different than my father's, and older.

I had a lot of secrets, but the one that I was the most reluctant to share with anyone was the small circular battery in my chest. In a lot of ways I wondered if Fate hated me. My life had always hung on the edge; I've had heart failure more times than I can count, and I shivered at the memories of being completely paralyzed.

I had always had a medical condition, but it wasn't till I was eleven that I finally got the courage to ask what it was. I knew it was something serious, but what I hadn't known was how perplexed I had the medical world.

* * *

**Four years before**

_I never knew the world outside of the hospital floor that I resided in. I had never been outside, or on any of the other floors, and it was rare that I was even allowed to leave my room. _

_Ever since I could remember I had been a resident of Saint Louise Long-Term Care Ward, a small off-branch of Saint Louise Medical. There wasn't many people living here, most were elderly waiting for Hospice to collect them, and the few patients who did were ether not expected to make it a month, or ever awake. _

_I had lived here the longest, being admitted at the age of three after my second heart failure. Most of the nurses despised me, simply for living for so long. Ashley, my personal nurse who wasn't employed by the hospital but was under Mom's payroll, had been my best friend growing up, even if she was over thrice my age. Dr. Millod was the only residing doctor who was actually interested in me, and not my strange illness that no one has ever told me about. _

_Mom lived in an apartment across the street from the hospital, and visited every day. She had paid a lot for a permanent pass; she was allowed to come and go as she pleased, visiting hours be damned. _

_My room was small, although it was more colorful than the rest of the ward. Even though the walls and floor were white, I had green rugs and posters, pictures, and paintings covering my walls. The TV in the corner had been replaced with a computer, and a small book shelf and dresser sat under the window. _

_I was almost always trapped in this room, but not because I wasn't allowed to leave… I couldn't. Wires, exactly fifteen, kept me from leaving the room. They were attached under my skin to the top of my spine and heart, I wasn't sure what they did… but they kept me walking and talking, and more importantly, alive. That much I knew._

_It was a Saturday, and Ashley had the day off so it was just me and Mom. We were playing a board game while waiting for lunch._

"_Mom," I said moving a piece down the colorful tiles._

"_Yes Penny?" Mom was the only one who called me Penny. Dr. Millod and Ashley called me Leia, or little princess. I swore that I would never let them watch Star Wars with me again after that._

"_What's my problem?" I asked, and then winced at the way it sounded. I started wondering last year just what was wrong with me. I was very versed in Medical terms and illnesses, one of the perks that come with growing up in a hospital, I suppose._

"_You don't have a problem sweetie." Mom replied softly._

"_Mom I want to know! I'm eleven now! I'm a big girl! I want to know just why I'm here! I know that there's something wrong with me, something that has all of the Doctors bamboozled and frustrated. I want to know… please?" I said stubbornly, just because I was in Long Term didn't mean I was ignorant._

_I watched as my mom sighed, "I knew that you would ask sooner or later; and realistically, I thought you would ask a lot sooner."_

_I waited patiently, my large eyes boring into my mother's. She had my full attention, and with the amount of thoughts that run through my mind at one time, that was saying something. _

"_When you were born you had a really weak heart." Mom started, but paused and corrected herself. "No, you had a strong heart… but for some reason it wouldn't… or couldn't… beat by itself. It was as if it was lacking the power it needed to work." _

_I was rapt with attention; I knew that I didn't have the most normal heart… but to hear it…_

"_By the time you were a day old you already had heart failure. They didn't think that you'd survive. But you held on, barely. You were balancing on the fine line, but you were alive._

"_Over the years, your body showed that it lacked the energy to function. It was as if there was a short somewhere… your muscles were strong, but would randomly fail. _

"_When you had your second heart failure at the age of three, added to the fact you practically lived in the hospital already… you were moved here to the Long Term Care ward. _

"_I really must say… in a way I'm forever grateful to your grandfather," I knew instantly she was talking about my father's father. Mom was an orphan, she never knew her family. "I would never have been able to afford your medical care without him."_

'_Most likely one of the only good things he ever did.' I thought to myself._

"_When you were five, and your paralysis set it… we met Dr. Millod. He was the one who came up with the theory, the theory that keeps you alive."_

_My breath caught in my throat, finally… if I knew what was wrong… maybe I could do something to fix it. I knew I was smart, everyone always told me so; I just hoped I was smart enough to help myself._

"_We were never able to prove this, but you still living shows something… he theorized that your body couldn't generate the same amount of electricity that normal humans could. Naturally, we are walking batteries; that is what the connections between nerves and our brains are, it is how our brain controls our body, with electric pulses. Well, for whatever reason, you can't create that electricity needed for your brain to do that. _

"_Dr. Millod wanted to test out his theory and see if his plan would work. You were asleep, and we hooked you up to the wires at the base of your spine, and heart. They weren't the same ones as you have now… they were removable… and we sent a constant, steady stream of electricity into you… I don't really know how to explain it… or why it worked._

"_But you woke up, and you could move, and that look on your face was one that I'll never forget. Six months later you had surgery and the Wires were made more permanent. _

"_However another complication arose. The hospital's electric bill skyrocketed because you were constantly being fed their electricity. They almost denied letting you be…" Mom paused, looking for words._

"_Plugged in?" I suggested; that was what I always called being constantly plugged into the wall… or a generator._

_My mom grimaced but said, "That'll work I guess, well the hospital didn't want to have to pay for the bill, and we don't have insurance. They wanted to transfer you to another hospital, but I knew that I couldn't afford it. _

"_So once again, your grandfather's money saved the day," Mom laughed bitterly, neither of us liked Howard, and Mom always hated how much we relied on his money._

"_I was able to buy a generator that emits the right amount of electricity, and the wires were transferred. _

"_One day," Mom continued, and I could tell that she was lost in memories. "You accidentally pulled out the wires,"_

_I remembered that day vaguely, the memory was blurry and the only thing I could remember clearly was the pure agony._

"_I'm still not sure how that happened, but they disconnected violently, and immediately your body started reacting."_

_I had never asked about that day, one reason was because I was too terrified; another was because any time it had been mentioned Mom would tear up._

"_You went into cardiac arrest within minutes, and you could barely move; although that didn't stop you from screaming bloody murder." Mom shivered, banishing the memories. "It was that day that we discovered that without the constant feed of electricity, you would die within three minutes."_

_Mom went silent, tears threatening to fall; I shoved my feelings about the matter to the back of my mind for the moment as I wrapped my pale arms around her. _

"_Don't worry Mom," I said softly into her hair, "I'm going to fix this, somehow."_

* * *

I never truly had fixed anything. Sure with the help of Howard's blueprints and money I was able to make a modified version of the Arc Reactor to keep me alive, but Mom never lived to see it; and now my father hated me.

My eyes swam with tears, blurring my vision, causing me to pull a wire with the small tweezers that I had not meant to.

The tears fell from my eyes and I bit back a scream as the Arc fell dark. Death was instantly by my side, my vision spun and I could barely see. I slumped back against the wall as my fingers tried to reconnect the small wire, my fingers trembled and felt like led.

I dropped the wire twice before a cold hand grabbed my shaking one, and helped my fingers reconnect the wire.

I gasped for breath as the Arc flared back to life, and I could feel the electricity humming beneath my skin once again. I wasted no time plugging the three inch device back into the socket in my chest.

I leaned my head back against the wall and breathed deeply, waiting for the lingering pain to pass.

I was distantly aware of my invisibility failing, and my tablet folding back into itself. The battery had died, but as long as I was holding it, my electricity would power the tablet without my direction.

My core, my Reactor, was the reason for my gift. Without it, I couldn't summon the weakest spark. I had a theory, one that was unproven but I believed it was true. Because I was unable to generate any electricity, once it had been introduced in extremely large amounts by the Reactor, my body made up for not being able to create electricity, by being able to control and manipulate it. It was like a messed up Mutation… which it probably was.

I placed the special skin colored cover over the Reactor, hiding it from view and making it practically nonexistent. The cover looked and felt just like skin, and while it was thin, blocked out the light completely.

Unlike Tony's Reactor, because of its small size and location between my breasts, it didn't protrude from my body.

I slowly stood up, the thin white fabric of the tank top slipping off my shoulders. While Tony had been given about three full outfits, they had only given me one change of clothes, and that wasn't until my suit had become so destroyed that it didn't even resembled clothing. They had only given me a white tank top that was far too large and shorts that fell down every time I moved.

Even though the wire had been reconnected, the pain didn't fade and I could feel the flow of electricity fluctuating beneath my skin.

Until the fluctuations stopped, and stabilized, I wouldn't be able to use any of my abilities. The thought itself brought shivers down my spine.

Death put his arm around my shoulders, his eyes wide in concern. "I'll be alright." I whispered.

Death didn't seem reassured. His head shot towards to door, he could always sense when people were coming, glared for a moment, and cast me another worried look before vanishing.

I quickly slipped the balls of palladium into my pocket and hurried over to Tony as the doors' burst open. I couldn't help but shutter at the dense ball of dread that clutched my stomach.

* * *

**OK, SOMEONE could HAVE TOLD ME MY PAGE BRAKES WERE NOT SHOWING UP! I NOW HAVE TO GO BACK THROUGH EVERY CHAPTER AND FIX IT! :( and I am not happy about it!... guess part of it is my fault for thinking that just because it showed up in Docx didn't mean it showed up in Story... still annoying though! and i liked my little ^*^ page breaks...**

* * *

**Well, that's not a secret any more… I wonder if any of you saw that coming… I know it's not that original but the reason for it SO is.**

**I'll update soon, you all are so AWESOME! Thanks Expecto Prongs**

**Cp**


	11. She is MINE

The Unknown Variable

**Hey, y'all. ;)**

_**(6/29/13) Beta'd, but for some reason the format is messed up...Sorry!**_

**Zippidi Dooda Zippidi Aye. My, oh my I don't own any…e...thing so don't bother me!**

* * *

The doors burst open and about eight goons walked in along with the heavy set man whom we had talked to before. The Ten Rings lined the walk way, their guns in their arms, as a bald man walked in obviously their leader.

The expression on his face sent shivers down my spine and I couldn't help but shift closer to Tony. With my powers shorted out because of my failing core, if something happened, I would be useless.

He eyed Yinsen, who was standing on the other side of the work space, his hands behind his head, and Tony and I copied his actions.

He looked over at Tony and I could feel him stiffen as the bald man said in an accented voice, "Relax."

Tony slowly put his hands down, his face black of emotion but suspicion in his eyes. I also followed Tony's move, sliding my arms down, then behind my back.  
I moved closer behind Tony as the man walked forward and moved his shirt to get a better look at the Arc Reactor. Tony watched his movements' carefully, a level of distrust hidden in his eyes.

"The bow and arrow," the man started, still staring at Tony's chest "once was the pinnacle of weapons technology."

'Great, just what we needed, a bad guy speech.' I thought to myself even though my throat was tight with fear and my heart was beating quickly, making it harder for my core to regain its full power.

I let out a breath I hadn't known I had been holding when the guy walked away from Tony and to the other side of the room.

"It allowed the great Genghis Khan," I wondered who that was, "to rule from the Pacific to the Ukraine." He continued while examining some pieces of equipment lying on the table.

Tony shifted nervously, showing his true fear for a moment before his mask slipped back in place.

"An empire twice the size of Alexander the Great," he said as he walked back over towards us. "and four times the size of the Roman Empire." He eyed the Arc in Tony's chest while speaking. Tony watched him carefully, and moved slightly to block me from view.

"But today," Bald picked up the sheets of parchment paper that held the layered drawings of Tony's suit. I silently prayed that he wasn't smart enough to flatten them out, or we would be doomed, which thankfully he wasn't.

"Whoever holds the latest Stark weapons," there was the gibe at Tony I was waiting for.

Tony looked over at Yinsen, clearing his throat quietly, trying to hold back a comment. Yinsen made a discreet motion to wait and I briefly touched his arm, only to pull back a moment later.

I saw Tony's eyes flicker to me for a moment, and I was perplexed by the look he sent me. It wasn't one I could decipher.

"rules these lands." Bald stated, putting the plans down, and I let out a breath of relief that the plans had not been discovered. "and soon, it will be my turn."

The words caused shivers to race down my spine; I didn't like the look in his eye at all. The way he was looking at Tony, and the small glance he gave to me, made me want to fry him right then and there.

He stood in front of Tony, looking him straight in the eyes, but spoke in another language, obviously to Yinsen.

Yinsen was quick to reply, though from his fidgeting stance I knew this wasn't good.

Bald continued to speak to Yinsen, in a dangerous tone as he walked towards him. Tony and I both watched with fear as he closed in on Yinsen. Yinsen replied to whatever the bald man was saying, and I was praying that nothing would happen to him.

The bald man ordered something in his native tongue and one of his goons, who was wearing an idiotic yellow hat, shoved Yinsen to his knees. Tony and I shared a small worried glance as we watched in silence; I didn't know what to do that wouldn't make the situation worse.

My breath caught as, while still talking, the bald man pulled a coal out of the fireplace with large metal tongs.

He said something short, and unable to hold his tongue while Yinsen was in danger, Tony said, "What does he want?"

I gripped his arm, trying to silently tell him to be careful, but he shook my hand off and ignored me. Yinsen's eyes were closed as one of the goons turned his head with his hand and brought it down on the wielding bench.

I knew that they were threatening him, and so did Tony. Personally, I was surprised that he managed to keep mostly quiet for so long. I had to bite my tongue from saying anything myself.

Yinsen started saying something desperately and we instantly recognized the word Jericho while the coal was being brought closer to his face.

The same five words were repeated over and over again by both men; the burning coal slowly getting closer to Yinsen's terrified face.

Tony was no longer able to stand to the side. He stepped forward and said, "What do you want? A delivery date?"

Instantly all the goons trailed their guns on them and turned off the safeties with a click, motioning for him to stop.

"Geeze," I heard Tony mutter under his breath as he stopped and put his hands up slightly.

Bald's gaze tore off of Yinsen and over to my father, irritated that he had been interrupted.

Tony now looked like he was slightly regretting saying anything, if his uncertain gaze and fidgeting was anything to say, but he stood his ground and said, "I need him."

I knew that the small phrase held a lot of weight, showing just how much Yinsen had come to mean to him in the time that we had been here. "Good assistant." Tony added, trying to get his friend free.

Bald let the coal drop from the tongs in front of Yinsen's face. His face turned thoughtful for just a second before he snarled.

"You have until tomorrow to assemble my missile." He said, before turning towards me and motioning with his hand. "and for insurance that you deliver." He added on as the goons grabbed me with such speed that I didn't see it coming. "She's coming with us."

"Let go of me!" I snarled, my fear overpowering my logical side. I struggled to get free even though I knew it was useless, without my sparks, I was nothing.

Two men had to hold Tony back as he tried to grab me, "Let her go!" he snarled and I was surprised at the rage on his face. "We had a deal!" He hissed in Bald's face. My eyes widened in surprise at his statement, what was he talking about.

"Ah," Bald man said with a feral grin on his face, "Your little deal." He glanced over to me, and seeing the surprise on my face laughed harshly.

"Oh, you didn't even tell her?" he let out another bark of a laugh as dread flooded into my heart, just what kind of deal did my dad make with these people?

Tony glared at the man, ignoring my questioning look, and said, "Do whatever you want to me, just leave her alone!" My eyes widened in surprise at these words, I looked over at Yinsen and he was shocked, though also looked as if his questions had been answered.

He laughed harshly again, "The pathetic deal doesn't matter now anyway. My men have grown bored… she will provide some… entertainment for them." Cold hard dread shuttered through me at his words, I watched as Tony's eyes widened and a cold fury appeared in their dark depths.

"Don't you dare touch her!" he snarled trying to break free from the iron grip on his arms.

"Get my missile done by tomorrow… and you'll see the little girl again… alive. Maybe." He added on to the end, clearly enjoying the look of pure rage on Tony's face.

Even amongst the dread, a small spark of happiness flared. Maybe Tony didn't care for me as a daughter, but he did care enough to be tortured this whole time, just trying to protect me.

With a wave of dismissal they threw Tony to the ground and dragged me out by my shoulders, my struggles coming back full force. I didn't want to be here, and my mind couldn't help but spin all the possibilities of what they would do to me now that they had me.

"I'll be ok!" I shouted to Tony as he tried to get to his feet. I don't know why I tried to reassure my father, even though we both knew that I wouldn't be fine.

The door slammed shut, nearly silencing Tony's desperate shout of "PENNY!"

"Now," Bald's voice said, and my head spun around to see his face right next to mine, "the fun begins."

* * *

**(I was going to cut it off here but I thought that it would be mean!)**

I was in a dark room that was all I knew about where ever they had taken me. I was bound to a stiff wooden chair in the middle of the room, or what I believed to be the middle.

My chin lay against my chest and my breathing was labored. My bloody arms sent wave after wave of pain up into my brain.

Bald had said something to the others in their native tongue before leaving me alone with his goons. But not before giving me a smile that promised later pain.

They had descended on me with burning pokers, cigarettes, and cigars. They had tortured me slowly, pressing a lighted cigarette into the skin right above my wrist, before making their way up my arms, covering ever half inch or so, with burn marks.

The damp cave smelled strongly of burning flesh, and smoke. My eyes were squeezed shut against the pain, my tears having run dry long ago.

Everything was a pained blur, I knew there were at least three men, and I knew they laughed every time I bit back a scream.

My head was yanked back by my hair and my eyes snapped open, locking onto the blurry face of the man with the smoldering poker.

He smiled evilly as he pressed the red end of the poker deep into my collarbone. They were slowly making their way down onto my chest, my bloody, burned arms taken enough damage.

I could no longer hold in the scream of pain that passed my lips, and I heard the men laugh with pleasure as I gave in to the pain. I knew that they could be doing much worse, but I couldn't focus on that semi horrifying, semi happy thought.

More and more hot shooting spots of pain appeared on the top part of my chest; they hadn't gotten down to any… sensitive… areas yet but I knew it was about time.

My Arc was even spiking and dropping in power, more than before, the waves of pain being delivered through the Palladium powered nerves causing it to flare.

My eyes widened as the poker was placed right over my Arc, the thin skin like film still covering it, but as soon as the poker touched the fake skin, it would light and reveal my weakness to everyone. Not to mention the fact that the poker could seriously damage it more.

Just as they were about to expose my Arc, the door burst open and another man came running in. He yelled something at the others and they looked at me before untying me, throwing me to the ground, taking the chair, and leaving.

I laid there in the dust, my mind muddled with pain. I just wanted it to go away.

My breath came in rasps every few seconds, my vision slowly faded as my consciousness fled from the painful horror that was reality.

* * *

I awoke to a painful start as someone grabbed me by my hair and shoved me up against the stone wall.

My eyes flashed open to see Bald a mere inches from my face. My blood matted red hair in his fist, and his other hand gripped my arm painfully. There was a hungry look in his dark, cold eyes that sent off about a 'hundred different warning bells in my mind.

I tried to struggle against his iron grasp, but he shifted his body slightly, so now I was pinned between the wall and his body. I tried to banish the horrific thoughts that my mind was bringing up, but it was no use. With my core barely functioning, there was nothing I could do.

"Such a pretty face," Bald said and I could feel his breath on my face. He released my arm, which I tried to hit him with but he snatched it and with a quick twist, I felt my arm snap in two.

I tasted blood as I bit my tongue to stop myself from screaming.

"Such a waste," He stated, running his figure down my jaw line. I glared at him, jerking my face out of his grasp and spitting my blood in his face.

He growled and I didn't see his hand coming until it collided with my face. Bald let me fall to the ground as he wiped my blood off.

"Little bitch." He kicked me in the ribs, causing me to gasp and moan in pain. My one good arm clutched my side, trying to protect my damaged ribs.

I couldn't tell if they were broken or just bruised, I didn't know how to tell, but I was definitely able to tell when I was flipped over onto my back, the motion making my broken arm and ribs flare.

A lone tear fell from my eye as I felt Bald lean down close to my face once more. He said something in his own tongue, and I just glared weakly at him.

My arc was fluttering, dying for a second before coming back alive for another moment before fading again. Having spent most of my life on the thin line between life and death, I could feel it creeping towards me.

His body pressed against mine, but I was too tired and my mind was too blinded with pain to struggle even though my very instincts screamed for me to do so. My vision blurred into a faint whirl of colors as my Arc gave another shuttering leap trying to stay alive. I vaguely registered one foreign hand traveling higher beneath my shirt against my skin, while the other one traveled lower into the large shorts sending shivers up my spine, until there was a flash and he was thrown off of me.

My ears were filled with a sound of a thousand whispers, wild hissing like millions of people whispering at the same time, and though I thought I imagined it, a soft but furious voice mixed within the hissing, the words piercing the pain filled fog for just a flicker of a moment.

_**"She is mine!"** _

The painful fog rolled back in and the hissings and whispered words were forgotten from my mind.

I could hear Bald crash into the wall, but I didn't care, nothing mattered anymore, not the pain, not the hissing, not even Tony. I could feel myself fading and for once, I didn't try to hold on.

Just as I thought my sight was fading for the last time, and I could feel my core falling silent and still, it all came crashing back in one colorful, painful, electrifying flash.

* * *

**Hehe, yeah, I know I'm mean but hey! I didn't cut if off up there! You all can elaborate on how far that went… it was vague for a reason. (and I couldn't really decide how far I wanted it to go) any suggestions for that playing a bigger part in the plot review, otherwise I don't have anything for that planned. Though most of the story is planned out in my mind.**

**Thanks for everything, all of you wonderful people! Thanks Expecto Prongs for Beta'ing.**

'**till next time,  
Cp**


	12. Fry these Buggers

_**(beta'd as of 7/11)**_

***hides from lawyers yelling and throwing papers* "I don't own anything you recognize! Go bother someone else!"**

* * *

Death was there once again, staring down at me, his eyes flashing between dark black and silvery grey in concern. I realized that it was he who brought me crashing back to reality.

Bald was gone, though there was a bit of blood where he had landed against the wall. I could feel that my core, while still dying, was no longer spiking uncontrollable and my sparks were back under my control.

I winced as I lifted my head, my broken arm was wrapped in a bandage torn from my shirt. Death held out a jacket, one I recognized from being one of the guard's. His cold hands slowly helped me sit up and wherever he touched, the pain faded, it was like a soothing pain killer that felt like ice.

From Death's expression I knew he was dying (no pun intended) to tell me something, and was frustrated about not being able to speak.

"W…when we g…get ba…ck," I choked, my throat dry and sore, "…learning… sign language." I managed to say, causing Death to smile lightly.

With his help (a lot of his magic pain relief) I managed to stand up and slowly made my way towards the heavy metal door. My eyebrows connected in confusion as I noticed the sound of gunfire.

I cast a look over at Death, silently asking for an explanation, 'Tony' he mouthed back, causing me to smile lightly, though that smile turned into a grimace quickly as my broken arm twitched.

With Death's help I opened the large metal door and slowly walked down the deserted hallway.

'Well, at least my legs are working.'

* * *

The sound of gunfire stopped, though I could hear a large thumping and my face twisted into a large grin, the suit was done. I rounded the corner ahead of me, leaning on the wall for support, bright light blinded my eyes and my heart leapt at the sight of the entrance.

My eyes widened as I quickly took in the scene, Yinsen was bleeding out on sacks of what I assumed was food, by the left wall a few feet in front of me. Tony, in the suit, was currently looking at Yinsen and had yet to notice Bald standing right across from us with what looked like a small rocket launcher.

"Yinsen!" Tony shouted his voice deepened and muffled by the suit just as Bald went to fire.

"Watch out!" Yinsen shouted weakly just as the mini missile sped towards Tony.

The shot missed Tony and hit the wall behind him and close to me, showering us with sparks and dust. Before anyone had time to react, my good hand shot out in front of me, my eyes locked on Bald, and fueled by the anger of everything that he had done, a large blue bolt of lightning flew free from my fingertips.

It arched with deathly grace across the cavern, shooting between Yinsen and Tony, and hitting Bald with deadly accuracy. He crashed into the stone behind him and fell to the ground, buried beneath rock.

Yinsen and Tony's faces both twisted round to my own, and my gut clenched at Yinsen's horrified expression and I wondered just how horrible I looked. I was covered in muck, dirt, dried blood, and most likely looked as if I just crawled out of a hole… which in some ways I did.

"We need to talk," was Tony's only reply, and I knew we would talk about it and everything once we were out of here.

Death vanished from my sight but I still felt his presence beside me, helping me stay on my feet and keeping the pain at bay. Tony reached Yinsen faster than I did; only a few steps in that giant metal monster and Tony had already thrown a sack off of him.

"Stark," Yinsen breathed as I limped forward, his eyes were half closed and I could feel him fading, I wasn't sure how, I just could sense it.

"Come on, we got to go," Tony said lifting up his face plate. "Move for me, come on. We got a plan, we're gonna stick to it."

I finally managed to get by Yinsen's side, I was still leaning on the wall, which Tony took notice of out of the corner of his eye.

"This was always the plan, Stark." Yinsen said, his eyes struggling to stay open.

"Come on, you're gonna go see your family. Get up." Tony tried to coax his friend, and I could see the pain in his eyes. A tear slid down my cheek; Yinsen had become like an uncle to me in the short time we had known him, and a dear friend to my father.

"My family is dead." Yinsen told us, and I felt my eyes watering, after everything he had done for us, he never planned on leaving here alive. "I'm going to see them now, Stark."

Tony didn't know what to say, and I could see his mask breaking as he realized his friend never wanted to leave alive.

"It's okay," Yinsen said, seeing Tony's face. "I want this, I want this."

Tears were falling from my eyes and I barely managed to choke back a sob. I just couldn't believe it.

Tony finally managed to give Yinsen a small half smile and said, "Thank you for saving me."

"For everything," I added on, my voice soft enough that they didn't notice the dryness.

"Don't waste it." Yinsen muttered, "Don't waste your life. Family is everything Stark," Yinsen started coughing, and I noticed Death becoming visible to me on his other side.

"Take care… of each other…" with a gasp, Yinsen's head stilled and eyes closed. Death put a hand to Yinsen's still chest, and when he pulled it back, a silvery white orb that was Yinsen's soul rested in it.

Nodding to me, Death vanished in a swirl of shadows, taking Yinsen's spirit with him.

Tony and I looked at each other, and Tony said, "Stay close to me, I don't want you to get shot"

I smirked at him, pausing a moment to shove the pain to the farthest, darkest corner of my mind before touching a power line running long the wall. I felt my core thrum happily as I absorbed the electricity from whatever source that was powering the caves, and sucked it dry. Every electronic in the cave died instantly.

"Oh," I said with my voice like ice as sparks danced between my fingers. "That won't be a problem."

Tony raised an eyebrow in question as a shield appeared around me, and I vanished from view. Stealing the electricity had given me a huge power boost, but it wouldn't last long.

His eyes widened a fraction in surprise before he flipped the face plate closed. "Stay behind me," was all he said as he marched out of the cave.

"Let's fry these buggers!" I stated as we stalked out into the sun.

* * *

The Ten Rings numerous goons were frozen in shock at the sight of Tony's suit for a moment before they opened fire; all of the bullets bouncing harmlessly off of Tony's armor and my shield. I winced as my shield became strained under the open fire, this was the first time I had used it against anything other than fire and I prayed that it would hold.

"My turn." Tony stated his voice mechanical and cold because of the suit. I could feel Tony pouring all of his fury over what had happened during our 'stay' into his actions as Tony revealed the double fire blasters attached to his arms.

"Fry these buggers!" I repeated my past statement with a smirk. I wasn't sure if Tony heard me but I didn't care. The large tongues of fire whipped across the campsite, burning everything it touched, brought a feeling of smug satisfaction. This felt like justice for what they had done.

I followed my father closely as we stalked through the campsite; Tony was torching everything and everyone, determined to destroy everything, including his weapons that had fallen into the wrong hands.

I flinched as gun shots started up again and bullets rained down; I crept even closer to Tony, ignoring the blazing heat coming from the nearby flames, which wasn't helping the desert heat.

I ducked my head down and strengthened my shield as bullets and sparks rocketed off of Tony's suit. My shield fluxuated as bullets pelted into the energetic boundary, and with a gasp I dropped to the ground to avoided more gunfire when a well-placed shot hit the mechanics of Tony's right left and brought him to his knees.

After a moment of regaining his senses Tony aimed his blaster towards the shooters and the encampment caught fire and exploded. With wide eyes I realized that between the fire and all of the explosives we were standing on top of a giant bomb.

The gunfire stopped as more and more explosions occurred around us, the weaponry becoming unstable in the heat.

The remaining goons fled the flames as Tony yelled through the mayhem;

"GET ON MY BACK, HOLD ON!"

I quickly complied, jumping onto the suit's back and positioning my hands so they had a tight grip on the metal as Tony climbed to his feet.

"I'M ON!" I yelled my face not a foot from the helmet.

With a slight nod Tony lifted up part of his suit's arm and flipped a big red switch before punching the button beneath.

With an earsplitting roar, crude rockets flared to life beneath our feet. My eyes squeezed tight as we blasted into the air just as everything around us exploded.

I felt my invisibility and shield fail as we were flung into the air, for a moment we flew through the air away from the fiery mountain until the repulsors died.

"AHHH!" A terrified scream tore through my throat as we started free falling towards the earth. Tony's scream echoed through the air along with my own as the suit began to dismantle beneath us.

My fingers slipped as the wind wiped against me, causing me to separate from the suit.

I remember panicking, my unstable sparks coming to life and engulfing me in light and connecting with Tony, before everything went black.

* * *

'_What do you mean?' my voice spoke, though it sounded not like my own._

'_Though your time on this Earth has ended, your journey has just begun.'_

_A flash of pale blonde hair, and bright purple eyes met my own, before the mist thickened and everything faded once more._

* * *

My breathing was labored as we trekked across the hot sand. It had taken a while to untangle Tony from what remained of the suit and unbury him from the sand, and now the blazing desert sun and endless sandy sea tried to tear us down.

Tony had wrapped his outer shirt onto his head like a turban, half of it covering his face, trying to keep off the sun; while I just lifted the collar of the jacket I had taken from the guard over my head, but kept my arms concealed within the sleeves.

Whatever had happened with my sparks during the free fall, it had nearly drained me. My shield no longer sprang to life, and my invisibility only covered the top of my chest my large tank-top did not, keeping the still raw burns hidden from Tony's view.

Though it was unimaginably hot, I relished the heat and sunlight. After spending God knows how long in a dark cold cave, the heat and sun was welcomed, even if it did kill us.

"Here," I heard Tony gasp. Not one of us had spoken since the fall, each of us just keeping to our own thoughts and memories.

I glanced over at my father, my eyes squinting in the bright sunlight. He was reaching out his hand towards me and clenched in his fist was a small black cube.

"My Tablet!" I gasped, my invention completely slipping my mind during all of the chaos. I took it from Tony's hand and turned it beneath my fingers.

I looked back up at Tony, my eyes wide with appreciation as I said, "Thanks… this means a lot to me."

A small smile flickered across his face for a moment as he said, "I could tell."

We fell back into silence once again and struggled to walk straight in the heat. As we made it to the top of our current dune, a sound made me freeze in happiness.

"TONY!" I managed to shout as US military helicopters appeared overhead.

'We're saved!' I shouted to myself and relief fell over me; it felt like a burden had been lifted off my shoulders.

"HEY!" my dad started screaming and waving as a second copter flew overhead.

I raised my good arm, my other still hanging useless at my side, and copying my father's actions I yelled, "OVER HERE!"

We both just started screaming incoherently in joy, and my vision blurred as tears rolled down my face.

As the helicopter landed, Tony fell to his knees and I collapsed besides him, my core still fluttering as it sent waves of energy through my body.

I laughed tiredly as Dad held up the peace sign, and leaned my head against his arm.

My eyes were already drooping and I realized that it was Rhodes who was running towards us.

"How was the 'fun-vee'?" He asked as he reached us, his face full of relief.

Another short and tired laugh escaped my lips at his sorry excuse for a joke, and I saw Tony shoot me a look of concern.

Tony closed his eyes with a small smile on his face as Rhodes knelt down in front of us.

"Next time, you ride with me, okay?" he said and pulled Tony in for a hug, relief and shock on his face before pulling me also into the hug.

I smiled lightly as I closed my eyes, soldiers swarming around us in excitement and shock. A pair of silver eyes filled my vision as I faded off into darkness, and a whisper passed my lips,

"I'm safe."

* * *

**It turned out a bit differently than I thought but hey, that's the fun in writing! I am so glad all of you like my story, and sorry for those random people who do not. But hey, that's your loss, especially if it is just about what view it's in (1****st****person, 2****nd****person, ect)**

**I know you are all wondering, (those of you who haven't guessed) when, who, and how HP plays into all of this… well… I'm not going to give anything away so tough. But it will be worth it, well, in my mind it will.**

**Thanks for all the reviews and favs/followings, Thanks Expecto Prongs,  
I'll update soon  
Cp**


	13. A Stark(unbeta'd)

The Unknown Variable

**__****(ok so this is how it is going to go, my Beta is being ether really slow or doesn't have a lot of computer time, so I will be posting regularly, the Unbeta'ed version, and when my Beta get's them back to me I will replace them.) PS this note will be going on the top of every unBeta'ed chapter.**

**Nothing not from my mind in mine, if you have seen it elsewhere (that had nothing to do with me) then go and send the bloodthirsty lawyers after them.**

* * *

I awoke with a start, a scream clawing at my throat and the painful and blurry memories at the forefront of my mind.

I pulled my knees up to my chest, ignoring the slight jab of protest of my ribs in the process and hid my face in my good arm.

I took a few deep breathes and banished the memories back behind the barrier. I could only ignore the pain and horrors for so long; I just hoped to hold out until I made it back home.

'Home' I thought to myself, and with a jolt I realized that I considered being in Malibu with Tony home.

This brought a small smile to my face and I was able to unwrap myself. I was in a small room that was practically bare. Tony and I were currently on a Military Base in Afghanistan (obviously) waiting for a plan ride back stateside.

Rhodes hadn't left my father's side since the rescue a few hours before, even when he fell asleep after getting onto the copter.

As soon as we had reached the base, we had been ushered into the medical bay where their doctor latched himself onto Tony.

But Tony refused to let the doctor see him, clearly stating that he was perfectly fine and just needed to sleep. After about an hour debating it, with Rhodes almost mentioning the Reactor (that he had scene and was now hidden) Tony finally won the argument and the doctor instantly dragged me into a separate room; insistent on at least giving me a checkup.

* * *

I glared at the white clad man who was the base's main doctor. He appeared to be in his forties and was clean shaven. I quickly learned that he did not like losing a fight, and was determined to do a full examination of me while taking out his anger on my father on me.

He reached for my jacket which was now fully buttoned and I glared at him in defiance.

"Don't touch me." I hissed backing away from him, memories of Bald jumping unwanted to the forefront of my mind.

Even though I had fallen unconscious my small bit of invisibility hadn't failed (something I assumed Death had a part in) until I had reawaken and my burns had yet to be discovered, and I wanted it to stay that way.

"Now," the doctor said, and a quick glance to his name tag revealed his name to be Dr. Hank.

'How original,' I thought to myself as he continued.

"I know that you have been through a lot but I need to take a look at you. So sit. Down." He ordered, and suddenly I realized just how he managed to become the head doctor, all of the troops must listen to him.

"I," I began in a steely tone, "can take care of myself!" this was true, you don't grow up in a hospital and not learn a thing or two.

Faster than I thought possible, Dr. Hank moved, pulling my jacket off and revealing the bright red burns that littered my arms and collar area.

"Oh my," he gasped, and my eyes widened as I realized that not only had my jacket been removed but the small piece of synthetic skin that covered my Core hand also come loose.

His arm reached out to touch the dull light that resigned in my chest; I grabbed his wrist and twisted it away from me.

My eyes narrowed in anger, and sparks danced across my fingertips although my Core flickered in protest.

"Stop," I hissed, and my sparks danced across the man's arm for a micro second before jumping into his skin and he froze instantly, a slightly dazed look coming into his eyes.

My own eyes widened as I looked between my hand and the doctor's still form. I quickly let out a small pulse of energy, looking for any camera's and bugs and smirked when I found none.

"The brain is controlled by electric pulses, in theory, if the right pulse is sent to the brain... I have complete control." I whispered as my brain connected what just happened.

While I knew that my sparks basically controlled me, and made me able to survive, I had no idea that they could influence other people.

While I shivered at the thought of controlling anyone, or taking away their free will, I thought that this was necessary.

Focusing on my sparks I quickly whispered a command, hoping that it would work.

"Fall sleep, and when you awaken you will not remember anything about your examination of me. You will report that besides being malnourished, exhausted, and having a dislocated elbow that I was perfectly healthy."

I watched as my sparks flared between our skin before seeping into his, and he fell over, unconscious onto the floor.

I sighed and banged my hand against my Reactor as it started to fade once again. Looking around the room and at the medical equipment I sighed before I stated,

"Well, let's get me fixed up," and I set to work.

* * *

That had been a few hours ago, and I had managed to catch a bit of sleep before the nightmares had awoken me.

I was in some spare bedroom, probably for whoever visits… if anyone does because who would want to visit a military base in the middle of the desert?

Shrugging I banished the random thought and made my way out of the room and into a small bathroom, where I found a towel, soap, and a clean pair of jeans with a white t-shirt and navy jacket, also underwear, socks, and a nice pair of black flats.

Silently wondering where they got the clothing I quickly showered, enjoying the hot water that washed away the months' worth of dirt and grime.

Rhodes had told us how long we had been missing, regulently, when Tony pushed him for information, and I still couldn't believe that it had been three months.

With the equipment in the doctor's office I had managed to treat the burns and find out that my arm was only badly bruised and sprained, although I swear it had been broken before and that my ribs were also badly bruised but not fractured. I also managed to do some crude repairs to my Core; and although it was no longer flickering and failing every few minutes, it still needed to be replaced as soon as possible.

Musing on whether it was Death who healed me, I quickly got dressed and was relieved to find that the shirt and jacket completely covered the burns, meaning that I didn't have to waste energy keeping them invisible. I was also relieved to find that my Core's cover still worked, even if I needed a new one.

Running my fingers through my messy wet hair that had grown a few inches during our 'stay' with the Ten Rings; I slipped my tablet into a pocket and walked out of the room.

Finding Tony was surprisingly easy; I just had to follow the harassed looking soldiers. I slid into a chair next to him, overlooking the airfield from a large window.

He spared me a quick glance before looking back over the darkening airfield, the large sun was low in the sky but I assumed we had a few more hours of sunlight.

We sat in silence for a while, watching the random soldiers run about the field doing their various jobs.

I mused silently, wondering what Tony was going to do now? He said we needed to talk, but about what? Did he want me gone? Did he just want to forget the tragic story that I had told him? Did he just want to send me away before I could tell him everything? I didn't know, and that was what scared me the most.

My eyes flickered briefly to Tony as he sighed; I knew he was trying to get himself to talk, though about what exactly, I had no idea.

"I'm sorry,"

My eyes widened and my head snapped towards him in shock, I wasn't expecting Tony to apologize, he never did; to anyone.

My heart hammered in my chest as I waited with stilled breath for Tony to continue, 'What on earth is going on?' I thought to myself.

Tony's gaze was fixed on the horizon though I could tell that his thoughts were elsewhere. He had a pained expression hidden on his face, barely breaking through his mask he lived behind.

"I'm sorry," He repeated this time continuing his train of thought. "I am sorry for everything, for getting us captured by the Ten Rings, for placing in danger. I am sorry for ignoring you, for pushing you away when you needed me; and I'm sorry for reacting the way I did, I… I shouldn't have walked away. I want you to under…"

I threw my arms around him, silent tears running down my face. I felt Tony freeze benieth me for a moment before his arms, one of them also in a sling, wrapped around me.

"It's not your fault, I don't blame you." I whispered into his chest.

I felt him stiffen at my words before he buried his face in my fiery hair (that was now dry) and whispered,

"You really are a Stark,"

It was then that I knew that I was accepted, that Tony wanted me, that we were a family. A broken messed up family with issues the size of Manhattan, but we had each other, and that was all that really mattered.

"I couldn't ask for a better daughter."

* * *

**Awwww Tony and Penny fluff! That also didn't go the way it was planned, but this was SO better! It was a bit shorter than the other chapters I know, but that just seemed like the perfect place to stop! **

**After this we're really jumping into the rest of Iron Man, but don't worry, there'll be LOTS of Penny and Tony bonding time, (and talks) to balance the action. **

**Thanks to my Beta again, YOU ROCK!  
See ya'll soon,  
Cp**


	14. Do They Know That Spells SHIELD?(unbeta

The Unknown Variable

_**(ok so this is how it is going to go, my Beta is being ether really slow or doesn't have a lot of computer time, so I will be posting regularly, the Unbeta'ed version, and when my Beta get's them back to me I will replace them.) PS this note will be going on the top of every unBeta'ed chapter.**_

"**The girl known as Cry-Pom, owns nothing besides myself, so go bother someone else."  
*Penny states before threatening Lawyers with lightning.*  
"Thanks Pen," **

* * *

James Rhodes sighed as he watched his best friend and Tony's young assistant sleep on the plane.

It had taken a good two hours, and an extremely long winded conversation _cough-_argument-_cough_ to get Tony into a wheelchair, and it was Penny in the end, that had finally convinced a grumbling Tony to get into the wheeled contraption.

Penny, Tony, nor Rhodes had really seen the need of the chair, but the base's doctor, who still held a grudge against Tony, refused to let them board the large aircraft until he was in the chair. Rhodes had sighed in relief, and so had the other soldiers that were accompanying them back stateside, that was, until Tony declared himself bored about fifteen minutes into the flight.

That had made them all groan, and later, glare at Tony heatedly.

Rhodes was unsure how his friend managed to hack into the plane's speakers, or how he got popcorn, but not even three minutes after his statement, ACDC was blasting through the plane's loud speakers, (something told him Penny had something to do with it) and nothing they did could override his music.

Then, if the extremely loud music wasn't enough, somehow, a popcorn fight had started between Penny and the billionaire. No one had dared to ask how they got popcorn.

So when Penny had fallen asleep on Tony's shoulder, and he quickly followed, there was a collective sigh from everyone on board; and they all agreed on one thing, a bored Stark was not a good thing.

Unknown to them, it was worse with two.

* * *

The plane ride had been quite… entertaining, if I do say so myself. Dad and the idiotic doctor got themselves into a fight, over a stupid wheelchair. If I hadn't stepped in, we would have never gone home.

Then of-course was the actual flight, Tony and I were bored to death within ten minutes, and when Tony told Rhodey, he got the 'I can't believe you' look in return. Deciding that I also wouldn't last the long flight in complete silence, took out my Tablet when no one was looking, and after hacking into the plane's speaker system, blared the ACDC albums that I had downloaded at the base (ok, hijacked of their privet internet but really who cares?) for the rest of the ride.

Tony and I had been keeping a unspoken agreement 'until we get home, nothing serious discussed' and I was perfectly fine at that. Half way through the flight, Death showed up with two big bags of popcorn, which I quickly took and started throwing at my father.

Which is how the Popcorn War started, with Death refilling our bags whenever we ran out, Tony didn't ask about that ether.

While the soldiers may not have approved, ok they really didn't, I felt that after everything we had been through, a little fun was allowed.

But nothing had made me happier than what Tony said when I hijacked the speakers.

* * *

With two discreet presses of buttons on the screen of my Tablet, ACDC blared to life around us, surprising and baffling everyone on board. Tony instantly turned to face me, and I couldn't help the smirk that appeared on my lips.

A large smile appeared on his face as he laughed, "You are totally my daughter."

* * *

Of-course, no one had heard him besides myself, we had decided (the only serious thing discussed) that this was to stay a secret.

Tony wanted our real relationship to remain hidden, because he wanted me to stay safe. As for me? I didn't want to deal with the attention or drama.

"Ready to go home?" Tony's voice drew me out of my musings.

I looked up at his face, and a small smile flickered across mine, "Yeah," was all I relied but he nodded, a large smile on his face.

* * *

I watched as the smile left Tony's face and his mask fell back into place as the plane landed. I knew that Rhodes had called Pepper, and that she and Happy were waiting for us at the airport. I hadn't asked where Tony had gotten the suit, we had been on a military base full of guys, and someone had to have had it somewhere; though how they had found cloths my size still confused me.

Rhodes stood on my dad's left, and I flanked his right as the large ramp lowered, reviling our waiting 'welcome home' party.

Rhodey helped Tony up from his chair (he refused to get off of the plane in it) and I silently followed as we made our way off the plane.

A cold feeling settled in my heart as we stepped back onto US soil, we were back in the professional world, back into the game, where both Tony and I had a role to play.

Part of me wished that the plane ride had never ended, that everything could stay that simple, but I knew it wasn't possible.

"Watch it coming up here," Rhodes warned Tony as they stepped off the ramp. Tony's face was an expressionless mask, and so was mine. No matter what happened, now was not the time for ether of us to slip.

"Are you kidding me with this? Get rid of them." Tony ordered as he saw the paramedics that were waiting.

Rhodey quickly waved them off, even though he seemed hesitant to do so. He shot me a look, and I gave him a small glare that said, 'not going to happen'.

We quickly reached Pepper, who had a large smile on her face at the sight of Tony, her expression was one mixed of relief and joy, and she looked like she wanted to hug him.

I heard Toy sniff and "hmm"ed to himself, as he took a good look at Pepper.

"Your eyes are red," he stated "a few tears for your long-lost boss?" he teased, a small almost unnoticeable smirk on his face.

"Tears of joy. I heat job hunting." Was Pepper's reply, she did a poor job of hiding her relief, but, she never had been good at that.

"Yeah, vacation's over." Tony told her.

After Tony greeted happy we climbed into the car, I wasn't sure if I was happy or irritated that Pepper seemed to be ignoring me. Happy had patted me on the back, after reuniting with his boss, and told me it was good to see me.

I had always liked Happy.

Tony sat in the middle, something that surprised me, when we all got into the car. He shot me a quick look that said, 'no protesting' when he slid in before me. I had merely raised an eyebrow in reply and wondered just when we had become so good as silent conversations.

"Where to, sir?" Happy asked, looking in the rearview mirror at us.

"Take us to the hospital, please, Happy." Pepper didn't even manage to get the whole sentence out before Tony interrupted.

"No," he said, and I heard a hint of a warning in his tone, but I doubt Pepper did.

"No?" Pepper asked, "Tony, you have to go to the hospital."

I noticed the pained look on his face, and the glint in his eyes and knew that he had a very _good _reason not to go to the hospital, just as I did.

"No is a complete answer." He told her, once again before she finished talking.

"The doctor has to look at you." She continued, ignoring his responses.

"I don't have to do anything." Tony stated coldly

"What about Penny then?" She asked,

"I am fine." I told her pausing on the "I", my voice like steel.

Tony pretended that nothing was said and continued, "We've been in captivity for three months." That shut Pepper up, "There are two things I want to do. I want an American cheeseburger and the other…"

"That's enough of that." Pepper interrupted, imagining what he was going to say.

"…is not what you think." He gave her look that told her 'really?' "I want you to call for a press conference, now."

"Call for a press conference?" she asked, completely bewildered. "What on earth for?"

"Yeah," Tony said, "Hogan, drive. Cheeseburger first."

Cheeseburgers did sound delightful, I had to agree.

* * *

Everyone started to clap as we pulled up to the curb, I had not spoken the rest of the ride, Tony and Pepper had discussed Stark Industries doings while it's CEO had been away. I had been mentally taking notes, not only on the companies happenings, but also on how Pepper and Tony interacted.

While Tony had never specifically talked about, I had a pretty good idea on what the conference was about. I felt like I knew him a lot better after our three month stay in Afghanistan, and I fully supported his decision. I never liked the weapon aspect of Stark Industries anyway.

I glowered as I spotted Stane, I still didn't like him. There was just something about him that made my gut squirm; and I had learned long ago to trust my gut.

"Look at this!" State announced with a little too much enthusiasm in my mind, pulling open the door before the care completely stopped.

I noticed his smile became rather fixed when he saw me; I quickly exited the car and moved to the side so Tony could step out.

"Tony," He said as my father exited the car wiping his face, and wrapped him in a hug.

Tony returned the hug briefly, and I couldn't help but glare at the older man.

"We were going to meet at the hospital." Stane said, pulling back from the embrace but not letting go of Tony.

"No," Tony insisted, "I'm fine." Braking the contact between the two men.

"Look at you!" Stan continued, gesturing to Tony's sling, and I couldn't help but glance down at my matching on.

Happy quickly walked around the car and shut the door, while at the same time offering Tony and I a bag of burgers.

We had already eaten one each in the car, but both of us were still hungry. Tony was quick to grab the last two, tossing one to me, and holding onto the other.

Happy, Pepper and I silently followed the two business men as we walked up to the large building.

"Of-course," Stane commented, "You had to have a burger, yeah?"

"Well," He replied looking around at the still clapping people, "Come on."

"You get me one of those?" Stane asked, eyeing Tony's burger.

I glared at the man as I unwrapped my burger. We had been practically starved, and he wanted to take Tony's food? No wonder I didn't like him.

"There's only one left." Tony replied, not true, I had one too, "I need it."

That, was very true. We did need it, a lot more than he did.

* * *

Tony put the last bit of burger into his mouth as he and Stane entered the conference room. Flashes snapped, and photos were taken as everyone tried to get a statement from the long lost billionaire.

Pepper and I waited behind the excited crowd as the two men made their way up to the stage.

"Miss Potts? Miss Telnets?" I heard someone ask as I took another bite of my hamburger.

"Yes," we both replied, I turned to see a middle aged man win a dark grey suit standing next to us. He had an ID badge clipped to his chest and stood in a very professional manor.

"Can I speak to you both for a moment?" he asked us, his stance barely shifting during the time that he spoke. It was obvious that he was not a reporter.

I opened my mouth to reply but Pepper beat me to it. "I'm not part of the press conference," I almost groaned, she thought he was a reporter, "but it's about to begin right now."

"I'm not a reporter." He stated, as Pepper turned back towards the stage. His eyes met mine for a moment before flickering back to Pepper's face. "I'm agent Phil Coulson."

I nodded, my mind racing, wondering what agency he was from. I also noticed that Pepper's smile had become fixed when he pointed out that he wasn't a reported.

'Embarrassed most likely,' I thought to myself.

Agent Coulson continued, drawing my attention back to the present, "With the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."

He presented Pepper with a card, and I took it when she did not.

"That is quiet a mouthful." She stated, her eyes still glued on the stage.

'Hmm, I've heard of them. Hard core.' I thought to myself.

"I know," he replied, "We're working on it."

'Wonder if they realized that it spelled SHEILD yet…' I wondered.

"You know," Pepper continued, "we're been approached already by the DOD, the FBI, the CIA,"

That was a surprise to me; I hadn't known that, though I suppose I should have seen it coming.

"We're a separate division with a more specific focus." Coulson continued.

"So," I said, speaking for the first time, "What does SHEILD want with us?" I asked, I really wanted to eat my burger, but thought it would be rude to do so while someone was talking to us.

Coulson raised his eyebrow at the abbreviation but to someone who couldn't read people, looked otherwise unsurprised. To me, he looked God smacked at the name; he was probably asking why anyone hadn't thought of that before.

"We need to debrief both Mr. Stark and you, Miss Telnets, out the circumstances of your escape." He told us, even though he seemed to be only to Pepper. He was barely looking at me at all.

"I'll put something in the book, shall I?" Pepper said, and I scowled at how the 'adults' were talking over my head.

"Thank you." He replied simply, and all of our attention turned back towards the stage.

Stane was now at the podium, looking over at the crowd gathered, wondering what on earth Tony wanted to say.

"Ah…"I heard him start, unsure of what to say, but it seemed unneeded as Tony called everyone's attention to the foot of the podium, where he sat. I took a large bite out of my burger, glad that I could now eat in peace.

"Hey, would it be alright if everyone sat down?" He asked the room at large, as he fished another burger out of his pocket. "Why don't you just sit down?" he waved them down with his arm, getting some amused and bewildered looks from the audience.

"That way you can see me, and I can…" he trailed off as everyone sat down, "A little less formal and…" he took a big bight out of his burger, and stared down at it as everyone, including Rhodey, Stane, Pepper, and myself, sat down on the ground.

I saw Rhodes shoot him a concerned look asking Pepper, without taking his eyes off of Tony, "What's up with the love-in?"

"Don't look at me; I don't know what he's up to." She replied, causing both of them to give me questioning looks.

I responded to their gazes with a half shrug and another bite of the burger.

"He's a big boy," I finally stated after swallowing, "He can take care of himself. I'm sure he knows what he's doing."

There, I hadn't acknowledged or denied anything, they couldn't pin any response on me.

"Good to see you," Tony told Stane softly.

"Good to see you." Stane responded with a bemused face, and I could tell he was humoring him, like you would a small child. It made me glare at the bald man. That was another thing I hated about him. It reminded me too much of Bald…

"I never got to say goodbye to Dad." Tony said, Stane reached and arm out and gripped Tony's shoulder in support… my eyebrow twitched with annoyance at Grandfather's mention.

"I never got to say goodbye to my father." He stated louder, to the crowd, our eyes locked momentarily and I gave him a small supportive smile. Talking about Howard was painful for both of us, though more so for him.

"There's questions that I would have asked him." Tony continued, setting down his burger onto the stage. "I would have asked him how he felt about what this company did. If he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts."

Tony whipped off his mouth, and I noticed how fidgety he was, no matter what mask he put on for the press, Pepper or Stane, he was nervous. I had never seen my father nervous in front of the press.

"Or maybe he was every inch the man we all remember for the newsreels. I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them."

I closed my eyes briefly, trying to ward off the images of the gunfights and explosions. Opening my eyes, I locked gazes with Tony, and I just knew he was having similar flashbacks.

Stane's face was hard and cold, I bet he could guess where this was going and didn't like it one bit.

"And I saw," he continued, his gaze leaving mine to scan the crowd, "that I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountability."

A few reports cried out "Mr. Stark,"

"Yes, Ben." Tony replied, selecting the reporter he wanted.

"What happened over there?" Ben, the young reporter, asked.

I closed my eyes as the unwanted memories came flooding back; the explosions, the horror, the death, pain, and destruction.

I shivered and tried to shove the memories away, I took a deep breath as tears flooded my eyes. Now was not the time…

I blinked back the tears and clenched my fists, dead set on ignoring the memories. I saw Pepper give me a conserned glance out of the corner of my eye but I did not look at her. Tony needed my support at the moment.

"I…I… I had my eyes opened." Tony stated, standing up; obviously trying to banish the same horrors that I had. "I came to realize that I have more to offer this world than just making things that blow up."

Tony came to stand behind the podium, his fist resting on the top of the podium. "And that is why, effective immediately; I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark International."

Everyone stood up and tried to get Tony's attention, somewhere protesting and other were just trying to get a quote.

I heard Pepper gasp in shock besides me and I had to try very hard not to smile. I was strangely proud of my father, and I didn't care what anyone else said. He would do great things.

"Until such a time as I can decide what the suture of the company will be." Tony continued over the uproar, Stane appeared at his side and tried to make light of the situation.

"We're going to sell a lot of newspapers." But everyone ignored him, thankfully.

"What direction it should take, one that I'm comfortable with and is consistent with the highest good for this country, as well." Tony said, as Stane pushed him away from the podium.

I glanced back to Rhodes behind me, as I stood up and pushed the last of the burger into my mouth. He didn't seem happy, was I the only one who saw the good in this? Probably.

Tony exited the stage, and reported hounded him, trying to get him to explain or expand on what he already said.

"What we should take away from this, this that Tony's back! And he's healthier than ever. We're going to have a little internal discussion and we'll get back to you with the follow-up."

Stane trying to do damage control… what next?

* * *

**Ok, this was way longer than any other chapter. But, hey you all probably liked it. Thanks to my Beta, I'll update soon.**

**Thanks for all of your support.**

**Cp**


	15. Home(unbeta'ed)

The Unknown Variable

**__****(ok so this is how it is going to go, my Beta is being ether really slow or doesn't have a lot of computer time, so I will be posting regularly, the Unbeta'ed version, and when my Beta get's them back to me I will replace them.) PS this note will be going on the top of every unBeta'ed chapter.**

**Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday To me, I am now 16, but I still don't own anything!**

**UPDATED CHAPTER ONE, IT ANSWERS ALOT OF YOUR QUESTIONS, AND REVEALS ALOT!GO READ IT! CHAPTER 10 HAS ALSO BEEN BETA'D**

* * *

Even though I desperately wanted to just go home, we had one more stop to make before I called it a day… hopefully. You never really knew with Tony.

As we drove to the factory, I tried very hard to ignore Pepper jumping down Tony's throat. But some of her comments made me just mad, I wanted very much to tell her that Tony knew what he was doing and what he was talking about. But I didn't, I held myself back. I should got an award for that.

We made great time, and although Pepper was dropped off, Tony took me with in to see the large Arc Reactor that powered the factory.

Neither of us had talked, we both just stared at the large Reactor that we basically owed our lives to, not that Tony knew about my Core… I had yet to tell him.

'This made it all possible,' I thought to myself, 'without this there would be no Starks left in this world. I would've never met Tony, never discovered my sparks, I would have never had a life.

'Without this, I wouldn't have my father ether. We would both be dead, we never would have met.' My thoughts were interrupted as Stane entered the building, a cigar in his mouth.

"Well, that...a…that went well." Stane said around the cigar. He hands were on his hips, in a _manly_ fashion of-course. Tony only spared him a glance before looking over at me.

"Did I just paint a target on the back of my head?" He asked, though by the way he said it, I knew he meant 'our heads' it was my company too now… well… it might be some day.

"Your head?" Stane said, stalking over here, I turned my gaze back towards the reactor, intent on ignoring the man. "What about my head?"

I couldn't help from rolling my eyes, if he wasn't narcissistic that who was?

"What do you think the over-under on the stock drop is gonna be tomorrow?" Stane stated, and I rolled my eyes again, really? That was all he cared about?

"Ah…Optimistically, 40 points." Tony replied after a moment of quick thought, pulling at his tie.

"At minimum." Stane added, trying to hide his fury.

"Yep," Tony said, as he put the tie on the railing. Refusing to meet Stane's eye. I knew that my father looked up to Stane, to him he was a father figure, but personally, I wanted to knee him in the shin and never see him again.

Personally, I had to real reason to dislike… ok, hate him, but for some reason I just did.

"Tony, we're a weapons manufacturer." Stane started but Tony interrupted.

"Obie, I just don't' want a body count to be our only legacy."

Hey, I was part of his legacy now too… too bad I couldn't shove that in 'Obie's' face.

"That's what we do. We're iron mongers. We make weapons." Stane started but Tony interrupted this time.

"It's my name on the side of the building."

"And what we do keeps the world from falling into chaos."

Ok, I really did snort at that, Stane really wasn't happy if he was pulling that crap. I doubted he cared about the world, as long as he made money. Thankfully no one noticed my snort, and I picked up Tony's tie, folded it, and put it in my pocket, no need to lose a two hundred dollar tie.

"Not based on what I saw. We're not doing a good enough job" Was Tony's swift comeback, man; he was on a roll today.

The two men were practically nose to nose, and I knew a silent conversation was going to between the two. I noticed that Tony suddenly looked tired, and I knew that everything that had happened was catching up to him, to both of us.

"We can do better, We're gonna do something else." Tony continued, seeing Stane didn't have a comeback.

"Like what?" Stane replied, getting his feet back under him, "You want us to make baby bottles?"

"I think we should take another look into Arc Reactor technology." Tony stated and I practically groaned, I could tell by the small tells in Stane's expression that we were getting into the real reason we were here.

I had really hoped that Stane wouldn't find out about his Reactor until later.

"Come one." Stane said,shaking his head with a smile on his face… ok he was a terriable lier. "The Arc Reactor, that's a publicity stunt! Tony, come on. We built that thing to shut the hippies up!"

I silently prayed that Tony wasn't buying this… Stane could not lie… or he didn't care enough to try.

"It works." Tony stated his thoughts obviously on other matters, as he stared at the larger version.

"Yeah," Stane agreed "as a science project. The Arc was never cost effective. We knew that before we built it! Arc Reactor Technology, that's a dead end, right?"

I shook my head, and leaned against the railing, although I was pretending to ignore them, I was watching both of them from the corner of my eye.

"Maybe," Tony said, looking up at the Reactor, pretending to ignore Stane.

"Am I right? We havn't had a breakthrough in that in what? Thirty years." Stane said, Tony finally turned around and faced him.

"That's what they say." He narrowed his eyes slightly at him, waiting for Stane to crack. In a battle of wills between Tony and Stane…where it really mattered… Tony would so win.

"Could you have a lousier poker face?" Tony asked, and I sighed in relief that Tony had noticed it… not that I doubted he could… it was just annoying me. "Just tell me, who told you?"

"Never mind who told me. Show me." Stane said, eyeing Tony's chest.

"I know it wasn't Penny. It's Rhodey or Pepper." Tony stated, and I felt thrilled that he knew I would never rat him out.

"I want to see it."

"Okay, Rhodey." Tony settled on it before unstrapping the sling and unbuttoning his shirt just enough for Stane to see, while making sure no one else was around.

"Okay." Stane said and buttoned Tony's shirt back up.

"Okay?" Tony asked, eyeing Stane's hands, obviously he wasn't comfortable with anyone that close to the Arc.

"Do you know what personal space is?" I whispered to myself. Was it just me, or was Stane creepy? I hoped it wasn't just me.

Obadiah looked positively gleeful as he buttoned Tony's shirt. He let out a small laugh and shook his head, shooting me a look, causing Tony to also look over at me.

I pretended to be looking at the Arc, ignoring the two, Stane might have bought it, but my father shure didn't.

"It works." Tony stated. Hell it did, we would both be dead if it didn't.

Obadiah sighed as he studied Tony and tried to figure out what to say… or what to do.

"Listen to me, Tony." Stane told him, putting an arm around his shoulders. I spotted his cigar in-between his fingers, I had wondered where that had gone. "We're a team. Do you understand? There's nothing we can't do if we stick together. Like your father and I."

That was the wrong thing to say, as Tony instantly looked away. Tony and Obadiah a team, maybe in the past, but Tony and I were a team now; and nothing he could do about it.

"I'm sorry I didn't give you a heads up okay?" Tony stated, changing the subject. "But if I had…"

"Tony," Stane interrupted…he did that a lot…Tony no more of this "ready, fire, aim" business. You understand me?"

"That was Dad's line." Tony commented, not looking at him again.

"You gotta let me handle this." He said, finally taking his arm off of Tony's shoulders. "We're gonna have to play a while different kind of ball now."

'Really?' I thought sarcastically 'we had no idea.'

"We're going to have to take a lot of heat. I want you to promise me that you're gonna lay low." Stane said, as Tony grabbed his coat and motioned for me to follow them out.

I was instantly at Tony's side, my head held high and ignoring Stane, we would do what we wanted. Nothing more, nothing less.

* * *

Pepper, Tony, Happy and I were all back in the car. We had picked Pepper back up, apparently she had been filing some paper work, and were on the way back to the mansion.

"Penny, where do you want to get dropped off?" Pepper asked me, her voice just a tad _too_ cheerful.

"What?" I asked, my eyebrows knitted together in confusion. I was planning on going back to the mansion with all of them. I had no idea what she was talking about.

"I thought you might want to go home and sleep. It's been such a long day and all, so where's your apartment?" I stiffened at Pepper's words.

I had completely forgotten that I had an apartment. Personally I wanted to stay at Tony's house but I suppose that wasn't realistic… I wasn't even sure if I had an apartment anymore, if I missed three months of rent.

Part of me wished to jump out of the car right then and there, and see if I still had a place to live. The other part however, just wanted to go home with Tony and ignore it all.

"I…"

"She's going to stay in the guest bedroom tonight. We'll work out everything else in the morning. It's getting late and all." Tony quickly stepped in; I shot him a thankful look as Pepper huffed.

"She…" Pepper tried to protest but Tony quickly shot her down.

"There isn't a problem is there Miss Potts?" Tony asked, his voice completely professional.

I saw her stiffen, before sighing and saying, "No, Mr. Stark."

I was finally going home.

* * *

**Ok, in case any of you were paying attention when my story crashed... yes I had to re-update the last chapter. This is why, I tried to re-post Chapter 1, (i added to it so go reread it!)but instead i accidentally deleted it so i had to replace every chapter with the one before... so yeah that's what happened. Sorry for the confusion. And i have no idea HOW i reposted 14 as 15 last night... didn't even touch a thing so sorry about that as well.**

**Chapter 10 as also been Beta'd... and I think i have fixed all of the missing Page Breaks... if I am still missing one tell me so i can fix it. Thanks to all of you.**

**Till next time,  
Cp**


	16. IM'ing an AI(unbeta'd)

The Unknown Variable

**__****(ok so this is how it is going to go, my Beta is being ether really slow or doesn't have a lot of computer time, so I will be posting regularly, the Unbeta'ed version, and when my Beta get's them back to me I will replace them.) PS this note will be going on the top of every unBeta'ed chapter.**

**Nope, Nothing, Nadda, is what I own if you recognize it outside of my hidden work. Send the lawyers elsewhere.**

* * *

I couldn't help the large grin that spread across my face as we pulled up to Tony's house sometime after six pm. But I certainly did not bounce up and down and run around laughing as soon as we entered the door. I was more dignified and mature than that, and NO, JARVIS does not have footage.

"Welcome home, sir, is good to have you back." JARVIS said as soon as we entered the house, all the light flickering on and I could practically hear the AI's joy at having its creator/father back.

"Good to be back, Jar." Tony replied, looking around at the bright and clean house. Part of me just couldn't believe that we were back, it was so surreal, and another part just wanted to laugh until I cried.

Tony had given Happy the rest of the evening off, and was trying to convince Pepper to go home, and that for the last time, we were FINE!

"Pepper, it's getting late and I'm fine." Tony was practically begging her to leave, and I wasn't sure whether it was because he wanted to talk to be or just be done with her worrying for one day.

"I'm not leaving until both of you get something to eat!" Pepper said, putting her foot down and glaring at Tony.

I was sitting on the couch, checking my email with my Tablet, sneaking a glance up at the arguing adults I could barely stifle a chuckle at the sight. They were both practically nose to nose, and were standing right in front of the waterfall, making a picture perfect scene. Part of me was wondering when they were going to kiss already.

With a mischievous grin I quickly exited my email and snapped a quick picture, it was perfect. Quickly saving it I sent a copy to JARVIS' mainframe.

_A perfect moment, huh Jarvis?_

I attached the note, sending it to the AI, another message popped onto my screen and I silently realized that I was IM'ing with AI, huh.

_And excellent blackmail material, Miss Penny._

Stifling a giggle I couldn't help but agree, JARVIS had an excellent personality, but Tony created him so it was to be expected.

"Jarvis! Prepare the guest bedroom; Penny will be staying here tonight." Tony said, breaking the silence that had consumed the house.

"Of-course sir, Miss Penny's room shall be ready momentarily." Jarvis's accented reply came swiftly.

"Thanks Jar," I stated, looking up at the ceiling.

My Tablet binged quietly and I noticed that I had another message from the AI. My eyebrow quirking slightly I reopened the IM box.

_Is Mr. Stark aware of your relationship?_

Rolling my eyes, I typed a reply. I was never sure how Jarvis had discovered that Tony was my father, but oh well.

_Yes, I told him while we were away. Don't talk about it around Pepper, she is not to know._

With another small ping, the message was sent. Tony and Pepper were now in the kitchen, fighting over what take-out to order.

Another ping and I glanced down to see a short reply.

_Good, she will not discover it because of me._

I shook my head and turned off the Tablet, sometimes Jar sounded more human than computer. But hey, I guess that was the brilliance of it.

I swiftly got to my feet and entered the kitchen, it was getting late, and I was hungry; time to break up the lover's quarrel.

"You are not ordering more burgers!" Pepper was saying as I entered the kitchen. Tony was tiredly glaring at his assistant and looked rather annoyed.

"What is wrong with having burger and fries for dinner?" Tony asked her, exasperated.

"You already had burgers today! You both need to be eating healthy, who knows what kind of food you ate when you were…" Pepper trailed off not wanting to say 'captured', 'in captivity' or anything along those lines.

"But…" Tony started to argue.

"I want pizza." I interrupted, making both Tony and Pepper look at me in surprise. A wide grin appeared on Tony's face and he said,

"Pizza it is then. Jarvis?"

"Ordering now sir, anything else you would like tonight?" the AI replied.

"Hmm, Penny?" Tony asked, looking over to me.

I thought for a moment… what sounded really good… "Hot fudge Sundays?"

If possible, Tony's grin grew wider and he nodded, "Jarvis, order a few of those as well."

"Of-course sir," Jarvis replied before going quiet.

Then he turned to me and said, "You have excellent taste." The unsaid, "like me" was obvious.

A large smile appeared on my face as well and I could help the small giggle that escaped my lips.

"Well, while we're waiting for that, let's go see how the lab's been without us." Tony said, rubbing his hands together, which I wondered how he did, since his arm was still in the sling.

I nodded, my grin remaining, and with Tony's hand on my shoulder we both walked quickly down to the lab.

"ARG!" I heard Pepper exclaim, frustrated, "You are incorrigible Tony, and your corrupting Penny!"

"Naw," I called over my shoulder as we descended the stairs, "I've always been like this."

Tony's laugh echoed through the large house as we entered the lab/garage.

* * *

I was still laughing uncontrollably, leaning on one of Tony's cars for support. I had tears rolling down my face and I could barely breathe, but at the same time, I could stop laughing, it was too hilarious.

U, Dummy, and Butterfingers were overjoyed that their creator was home… though they had an odd way of showing it.

As soon as Tony had entered the Lab all three bots were literally on top of him, and each bot was holding on to some part of Tony's body while clicking and whirling 'talking' to him.

U was refusing to let go of Tony's arm, and Dummy had tried to sit in his lap, while somehow ending up with Tony's sling on his 'head'. Butterfingers was standing close to Tony's head, while holding Tony's foot, with the said foot's shoe on Butterfinger's 'head'. Each one was clicking, chirping, and whirling, while refusing to let go of their creator, or let him stand.

Pepper had come down when the pizza and ice-cream arrived, took one look at the scene, and stated she was going home. Ignoring Tony's pleas for help, she left.

Some point between now and then, Dummy had also managed to get a fire extinguisher and now everything was covered in foam.

And I had yet to stop laughing.

"Penny! Come on! Give me a hand here!" Tony's desperate pleas were becoming more and more hysterical.

"Oh," I managed to say between laughs, "They great Tony Stark needs MY help?" before I collapsed laughing once again.

"YES!" he cried, as tried to roll into his lap again. "Please, before they crush me!"

Rolling my eyes, I managed to stifle my laughs enough to walk over and shooed them away from my father.

"Go on, Tony's fine, now shoo." Within moments, I helped a disgruntled and irritated Tony to his feet.

"I will get you back for that." He muttered under his breath, but hey, I didn't really care. The bots still had both his shoe and sling, and his hair was ruffled and his clothes wrinkled. He also had a bit of foam still in his hair and goatee.

"Come on, it was hilarious." I stated, shrugging, a few giggles passing my lips.

I heard Tony sigh, a lot louder than necessary, but admit, "It was."

"Well, at least you know that they love you." I told him, as we settled down into one of Tony's convertibles. Personally, I always thought we needed a couch down here.

We were silent as we ate our (now somewhat melted) ice cream and pizza.

"Do you think I did the right thing?" Tony asked abruptly, as he stared at his last bight of ice cream.

I looked over at my father, there was no need for him to explain, I knew it was going to come up sooner or later… along with everything else.

"Yes," I answered simply. Personally, I was proud of Tony, he was taking responsibility for the things he had done, even if not everything was his fault.

While Tony was thinking, I let out a strong wave of electricity, searching the whole house for any kind of bugs, and a found a few, one in the living room, one in Tony's lab, and another in his pants pocket, which the wave fried, and destroyed.

I let out a huge yawn, and as my eyes widened as I spotted the clock on the wall, it was already eleven, huh, the bots must have been torturing Tony longer than I thought.

Putting my trash into the pizza box I told Tony "I'm going to bed."

I received a grunt in return, I could tell that Tony was lost in thought, his mind in his own world.

Biting my lip, I leaned over and wrapped my arms around my dad, and whispered "Good night," into his ear.

As I slowly stood up and walked out of the lab, I heard a soft "Good night Penny," in return.

* * *

**Ok, more fluff! **** Serious stuff coming up next chapter though… so be ready for that. Oh and if any of you think that Pepper is being a little OC or if I'm bashing her… I'm not. I love Pepper, but she and Penny are going to clash for a while. Think of it like this, one some level, Pepper is both concerned for and jealous of Penny… it'll get dealt with soon though.**

**Thanks to my Beta, Expecto Prongs, and to all of you wonderful people.  
Cp**


	17. Truth and Nightmares(unbeta'd)

The Unknown Variable

**__****(Beta'd as of 7/25/13...the reason this is Beta'd before the previous chapters is because I was stupid and sent my Beta the wrong chapter. The reason that the chapter title still says unbeta'd is because the name change thing isn't working...if you have no clue what I'm talking about then I will assume that I managed to fix it eventually)**

**If you think I own anything that belongs to Disney, Marvel, or JK then you should go get a mental eval. Because I don't, never have and never will.**

* * *

_My lungs were on fire, and my vision was filled with blood. I could see Tony floating in front of me, blood pouring out of the wound in his chest, the blood slowly turning the water red._

_I tried to move towards him, but something held me down, my own Core screamed in protest against the water, and suddenly I was pulled up from the water, and Bald was standing over me, my Core in one hand, and Yinsen's bloody glasses in another._

_I tried to cry out, but he covered my mouth his hand. Suddenly I saw Tony laying on a cot in the corner of the room, bleeding out and crying weakly for me._

"_Penny…"_

'_TONY!' I tried to scream back, I struggled but Bald was holding me down. I was pinned to the ground, and my vision blurred as Bald got closer and closer._

_I felt his hands crawling up my sides, and suddenly it felt as if I was on fire._

"_Penny…" I watched as Tony's arm dropped to the side._

"_DADDY!" I screamed as my world exploded in pain._

* * *

"DADDY!" I screamed, my eyes flying open as I sat upright. Sobs rocked my body as I curled up into a ball, pulling the sheet tight around my shoulders.

Memories flashed before my eyes, some of them real, others wild horrors that my brain created, that seeming even more real than the ones that actually happened.

My fists clenched tightly as I tried to calm my breathing and banish the memories.

A loud crash echoed through the house, startling me out of my tears.

"J…Jarvis?" I asked hoarsely, my throat raw from screaming and crying.

"Miss Penny," Jarvis's voice echoed through my dark room, was I just imagining it or did he sound relieved?

"I…I believe your father requires your assistance."

Something in his tone struck me cold, and wrapping the sheet tighter around my shoulders I quickly stepped to the cold wood floor. I was using one of Tony's MIT t-shirts as a sleeping gown. It reached my knees, so I wasn't worried about him seeing anything. Carefully wrapping my invisibility around my burns I carefully exited the dark bed room and made my way down stars.

I did not care that I was getting Tony's white sheet dirty, dragging it on the floor, all I knew was that I wasn't going back to sleep, not if those horrors were what awaited me.

As I passed through the living room I noticed that the clock read one twenty two, it seemed that I hadn't been asleep all that long.

"Tony?" I called softly, entering the still bright lab. I instantly knew something was wrong. There was a pile of glass laying by one of the walls, and one of his car's had a large dent in it that was not there a few hours ago.

What chilled me to the bone was my dad's still form slumped forward in the same car we had been sitting in, a shot glass in his hand and his Arc Reactor in his other.

"DADDY!" I yelled, not even aware of the word leaving my mouth. I ran across the glass covered floor, not caring that my feet were bare.

As I got closer I noticed that the Arc was still attached to his chest, but it was still in his hand and he was staring at it with a strange look on his face.

"Tony," I asked quietly, not wanting to startle him, climbing into the car beside him.

"Huh," he jumped, noticing me his eyes widened in surprise. "Penny," He said, as he recognized me.

It took a moment for his brain to come back from wherever it was, but Tony shook his head and said, "Did I wake you?"

I shook my head, "Nightmares." I stated lowly, not wanting to think about it.

Tony remained silent, and slowly, as I saw his mind slipping into whatever dark place it had been in, I pulled the glass (I assumed it was of scotch or something) from his hand and put it under the car.

I wrapped the sheet tighter around myself, it was chilly in the lab, and I wasn't wearing a lot of clothes.

"What's wrong?" I whispered, tugging on Tony's arm holding his Arc. Having his Arc out made me really nervous. Images of him bleeding out on the table, both real and fictional, flashed through my mind, and I couldn't help but shiver.

"I shouldn't be alive." His voice was hollow and I wondered if he even realized he was talking. "I shouldn't… I shouldn't have survived… they all… they all died because of me…Yinsen… I should be dead. I deserve to be dead…"

My breath hitched in my throat, and I hit his shoulder, hard, as hard as I could, and when that didn't make him stop, I grabbed his arm and sent a low level current of electricity up his arm.

It caused him to jump, and his mind to came crashing back to reality.

"No, you shouldn't be alive," my tone was harsh, and my words held less meaning than I hoped they would, but I kept going, "But you ARE alive, it's not your fault about what happened… you didn't know. Now you do, you can do something, you can change something, you can do ANYTHING!"

I saw Tony's dark eyes flicker for a moment before he slipped back into the dark pit, "My whole life depends on this little light… made from the scraps of the weapons I created…"

I took a deep breath, before interrupting him again by sending a wave of sparks up his arm, "I know what you are feeling right now. It's dark, it's deep, and it's easy to slip into!" I took a deep breath and continued, "You're not the only one who has to depend on something else to survive." I stated.

I closed my eyes, after making sure Tony's attention was on me, "I said that I was a sick child… that was an understatement. I lost count of how many times I almost died… and no one could ever figure out what was wrong with me. When I was about seven or eight, a doctor came up with this theory, that my body couldn't naturally create the electricity needed for it to run, that was why my heart would fail, why I was paralyzed, why my mind would blank out for days on end. His solution, literally plug me into a wall; I was already living in the hospital by then…so it wasn't a big deal.

I took a deep shuttering breath and continued, "Right before Mom died… I came up with something that would help me, something that would be able to give me a life…but…she didn't live long enough to see it finished."

I opened my eyes, and ignoring Tony's, I pulled down the collar of my shirt, removing the thin cover, and showed him my own Arc, my Core.

"It… It's the only way that I could survive. I couldn't live in the same room day after day anymore. I…I wasn't in the best place…" I took a deep breath, my eyes flooding with tears. "I… I probably would have killed myself… but somehow… I got it to work… took me months and months of work, and finally, after a rather difficult operation… I had a life.

"My Arc is different from yours… it… it's connected with my brain stem, and the top of my spine, along with my heart. It produces the electricity I need to stay…well… alive. Without it… I wouldn't even last five minutes…"

With a dark laugh I wiped the tears from my eyes but still didn't look at Tony, lifting my hand up I let the sparks dance between my fingers, showing Tony, up close, for the first time, my power.

"My sparks, as I call them or my gift with electricity, didn't come till after, and it took me even longer to control. I often wondered if it was all connected somehow, my lack of electricity and my gift with sparks. My doctor and I talked about it, a few months before I came here actually, and we theorized that it all might be some messed up Mutation. If the stupid X-gene didn't do something right, and instead of enhancing our natural ability to generate electricity, if fucked mine up hindering me from creating it, but gave me the ability to control it anyway… or something like that anyway."

I took another deep shuddering breath, and finally realized that I was still holding my collar down. Releasing the fabric from my grasp, my Core was once again hidden from view, though now, it shined through the fabric. I hadn't replaced the cover.

"I always used to wonder if it was worth it, if all the pain, all the loss, all the struggles, but then I met you." I told my father, looking up at my father, whose eyes were misty (though he denied it afterwards) "And I've had fun, I've had a life. Sure, getting stuck in the cave with the Ten Rings was horrid, and almost loosing you, and loosing Yinsen all … just horrible… but if it was a choice between that…this… and my old life… I wouldn't trade it for anything."

The end of my little speech was muffled as Tony wrapped me in a hug, after putting his Arc back into his chest. "I wouldn't trade you for anything either," he whispered.

I knew that Tony wasn't all that good with feelings… Mom always told me that she had to work really hard to get him to open up, and that when she left it probably ruined any progress she made, but maybe, just maybe, Tony would open up to me.

Tony pulled back when I coughed, my Core was flickering again, "Shoot," I muttered, banging on the metallic device; and sighing when the light stayed on.

I saw Tony's concerned and curious expression and replied before he could comment, "It's been acting up for a while now…didn't ever bother to make it waterproof…"

Tony nodded, obviously catching on to what I meant. "We both need new Arcs… Jarvis, order the necessary ma…"

"That won't be necessary," I interrupted him, "Jar, did those orders ever show up?"

"They did indeed Miss Penny, they are currently in the storage room." The AI replied instantly.

"Well," Tony said, brushing my hair aside and looked at my tear stained face, "Looks like we have some work to do."

"Let's get started." I told him with a grin.

Sure we were both really messed up and had a lot of issues; Starks don't play well with others, and at times are self-destructive. But hey, we never claimed to be perfect, brilliant, rich geniuses yes, perfect… sometimes.

And that was alright with me.

* * *

**I am on such a roll today, I have written like… the last three chapters today and the last five/six in the last 24 hours… I kid you not! Anyway… thanks to all of you, and my beta, I promise to update soon.**

**Cp**


	18. Well, That Was Unexpected(unbeta'd)

The Unknown Variable

**Marvel/Disney and JK own anything that you have seen anywhere else, so send the legal bloodhounds to them!**

* * *

Part of me was surprised how fast Tony was able to put together my new Arc (he refused to do his own until mine was done) the other part… thought 'Only Tony' and left it at that.

He had taken into consideration the modifications I had come up with (that I had forgotten about until Jarvis reminded me… he remembered almost everything) and while I built the housing and casing, Tony made the palladium core.

All in all, my new Arc was done before five am… then… we just had to put in it.

"I can do it myself!" I stated, my arms crossed in front of my chest.

"I know you can, but I'm going to do it!" Tony sated, and I saw the unsaid, 'I'm worried and want to help' behind his words.

"ARG!" I exclaimed, giving up. We had been arguing for the past forty-five minuets, and no one was getting anywhere.

"Fine, you can put it in!" I huffed in defeat and sat down in my chair. While we were building the Arc, we also set up a workspace for me as well. After finding another desk and chair in the storage room (Pepper had ordered them incase Tony ever broke his) and moving some of the tools around, I now had my own little corner, where I could work on whatever I wanted.

I also found my laptop, that I was very happy didn't get trashed or broken while I was away, and it was now sitting on my desk charging.

"So, how is this going to work?" I asked, causing Tony to stutter, as he just now realized just _where_ my Core was located.

While my Core was about an half and inch to an inch smaller than his own, it was also placed a bit higher, not a whole lot, but enough that it was in a compromising position, but could be a whole lot worse.

If I was wearing a normal tank top, for instance, one of those spaghetti strap ones that just cover your cleavlege, you would be able to see the top half of the Reactor.

"Just go put on a tank top," Tony replied, shrugging, while pulling out all he necessary equipment… I didn't even ask HOW he had a heart monitor…

I rolled my eyes, there was a reason I was in his t-shirt, "I don't have one with me." I drawled.

That caused Tony to freeze, and the very awkward conversation to continue. We both agreed that I couldn't just take the t-shirt off. Apparently, there is only so much of your teenage daughter you want to see… especially your newly found teenage daughter.

So eventually (another half'n'hour) we found a compromise, well… Tony did…by throwing the sheet at me.

Which let me to be lying on some medical table thing, (not even asking how he got that ether) that was at an angle where I was partly laying partly standing, with the t-shirt off, wrapped up in the sheet. The sheet was just low enough that Tony could work on my Arc, while covering enough that Tony was comfortable.

I felt like I was in a cocoon… or a burrito. Personally, I didn't have a problem just wearing my bra, it wasn't like he wouldn't see anything that he wouldn't if I was wearing a bikini, which I told him.

He replied with a question, asking if I was really planning on swimming any time soon.

Truthfully, no, I had no intention of getting in any body of water at all, just the thought of it sent shivers down my spine and unwanted memories to the forefront of my mind.

I tried focusing on the ACDC playing in the background, who knew Tony could listen to music that wasn't blasting, but it was no use, my mind refused to be distracted.

I talked Tony through the procedure to disconnect the Arc from the socket in my chest. I was now quiet happy that I had put the connection panel closer to the top, then farther in. Otherwise, Tony wouldn't have been able to reach it, his hands where too big; though it was originally designed so I could change and repair any parts if needed.

"Ok, I'm going to disconnect it on three, ready?" Tony said, my old flickering Core in one hand, the other on the baseplate.

"One,"

I took a deep breath and braced myself, although my Arc had failed a few times recently, I never had it completely disconnected before. I didn't tell Tony this, but I had no idea if anything was going to happen.

"Two," my hands clenched the sheet tightly, my knuckles turning white…

"Three." With a click and a twist I felt my Core disappear and instantly it became harder to breathe.

My eyes snapped open, to see Tony trying to insert the new Arc in, "Hurry… up…" I gasped, and I heard the heart monitor starting to beep faster with my increasing heart rate.

"Trying." Tony muttered, fiddling with the connection wires and socket.

Without the current of electricity constantly running through it, my body felt cold and empty. I had to really focus to move, and labored to breath.

"Try… harder…" I hissed between gasps. Part of my mind was fighting with the other part. I was still holding up the invisibility on my burns, but it was draining me faster. I could already feel myself fading, and nothing happened when the connection click was heard.

"NOT WORKING!" I growled as my vision started to blur and my thoughts wander.

"It's connected!" Tony replied in desperation. For some reason the energy just wasn't going from the new Core, to me.

"Fix it!" I gasped, as my back arched against the blackness that was closing it.

'_Drop the invisibility!'_ some voice in the back of my head hissed at me.

'No,' I thought back to myself, wondering if I was finally crazy.

My eyes squeezed shut, as I tried to fight back against the fogginess that was quickly consuming my thoughts… I needed to stay aware… to help…

"Sir, her heart rate is becoming dangerously high; it seems that her self-estimated survival time was off…I estimate her succumbing to Cardiac Arrest within a minuet…"

"Shut up, Jarvis!" I heard Tony say, and my libs slowly felt as if they were being filled with led, I couldn't feel them, and I couldn't move them. I knew it was my nerves failing because of lack of energy.

The beeping's went crazy when my heart missed a beat, and my hand shot out, grabbing onto the monitor, and sucked it dry, then used the power plug to absorb energy from the wall.

"Not... going… to… last…" I stated, trying to stabilize myself, "Hurry… up…" even drawing energy from the wall wasn't going to last, I was too used to the high power from the Core.

I felt a hold hand on my shoulder, and knew Death was there, even if I couldn't see him at the moment.

"GOT IT!" Tony exclaimed, and my head shot up, as wave after cooling wave of stable energy coursed through my body; and Death's grip vanished.

I gasped and dropped my arm back to my side, and couldn't help the small smile that appeared as my heart rate returned to normal.

"We're gonna have to fix that." I stated, as Tony helped me down from the table thing.

"Not, now though." Tony said, clearly shaken by my close call.

"No," I agreed, "Not now…"

I walked over to Tony's desk, careful not to trip over the sheet, and picked up a small mirror. My new Core was much more powerful than my last one; I was practically humming with static right now. We had doubled the rotation, just like I suggested, and now the core was also twisted.

While the shell and cover for the Palladium core was still circle, the Core itself now had a figure eight look to it… a very wide… or was it tall… figure eight. Instead of there being a diagonal, where one loop became another, it looked like the circle went straight down, before becoming another one. Like two circles slightly overlapping.

It looked cool, and I had a feeling that I could do a lot more than with this once. I shivered; time to put the t-shirt back on.

* * *

Tony and I were back sitting in the convertible, he was tinkering with some parts to make his own Arc and I was just watching him, curled up under the sheet. The exchange had taken a lot out of me.

"Why did you start failing so quickly, I thought we had more time?" Tony asked, I had a feeling he had been trying to figure out how to fraise the question since it happened.

I shrugged, 'because I was an idiot and kept my invisibility up, hiding my burns from you, while it was draining me dry.'

"and I thought that when you grabbed the monitor, it would help. Absorbing the energy and all." Tony continued when I hesitated.

"Well, the way I see it," I stated, deciding to go with the truth with what happened with the monitor. "For years I was used to be drinking, let's say, a certain level of electricity from the normal power plugs, or generator. But when I got the Arc, I had a lot more power coursing through my body, which is why my ability with sparks showed up. But when we took away that large amount of power, and I tried to go back to the lesser source of energy…"

"Your body was so addicted to the new, more powerful, sustainable powerhouse, that the older, weaker current could no longer support you." Tony finished the train of thought; it was awesome having someone else around who was just as smart as you.

"Basically." I replied, shifting into a more comfortable position on the seat.

The next few minutes passed in silence as I watched Tony, with U and Dummy handing him tools, work on created his new Arc.

"So, just what can you do with your 'sparks'?" Tony finally asked.

I shrugged, "A variety of things."

"Like…" Tony pressed, wanting to stifle his curiosity.

"Well, until….recently…" I couldn't bring myself to say Afghanistan, and I saw Tony nod, saying he understood what I meant, "I could only create the bolts… as you saw… create a shield…something like an EMP blast… and absorb energy from other sources.

"Remember those times where I disappeared randomly and you couldn't find me?" I asked, not mentioning the cave, though it was pretty obvious.

Tony nodded so I continued,

"Well, at first that was my invisibility kicking in, I just didn't know it, but then, that time when I was sitting under the table, I realized what I was doing and experimented with it.

"My sparks create an EMP like shield," I started, but once again Tony finished my thought.

"That basically uses multiple electrical currents to reflect the light and place you into a spectrum that we are not able to see." Tony concluded, his own brain thinking up solutions.

"That's my theory, anyway, not only can I had myself beneath that shield, but also I can encase other things within it besides myself." I raised my hand and Tony's screwdriver that was sitting on the dashboard disappeared.

"It's still there, but you just can't see it." I told him, and let the field drop. "While we were looking for bits of Palladium, I wondered that since it was such a good energy conductor and creator, if it would be able to hold my sparks. And it does, using some let over scraps, I was able to make energy balls that centered on the Palladium… of-course I didn't work with them much… not after blasting the wall." I said sheepishly.

"So that's what that was." Tony commented, as U handed him another piece.

"Yeah…that was an accident." I chuckled quietly before continuing, "And while we were at the base… I discovered that because the brain is controlled by electric pulses,"

"Control the pulse, control the brain… interesting, but not my favorite one." Tony commented, shuttering a bit. His brain was his biggest gift, to take that away… yeah I wouldn't like it ether.

"I've decided only to use that in emergencies." I assured him.

"Good," he replied.

"What about the Teleporting thing?" Tony asked after a moment of silence.

My eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "What teleporting thing? I can't teleport."

"Well, you can do something. I thought that I had just blacked out. When we were… free falling, I remember the suit coming apart and hoping that you were ok. Then there was a bright flash of light, I felt as if I had just stuck my finger into an open socket, and then the next think I knew I was half buried in sand, and you lying unconscious next to me. For a moment I thought you had died."

I remained silent; my brain going a million miles an hour, "Hmm," was basically all I could come up with.

I looked across the room, to the other side of the lab, right next to the ramp. My eyes narrowed as I glared intensely at that spot, then I felt my spark flare wildly, and the next thing I knew, I fell to the ground on the other side of the room; exactly where I had been staring.

"Well, that was unexpected." I commented, standing up slowly. 'That really took it out of me.'

I looked back over at Tony, he was staring wide eyed at me, his hair was smoking and half of his face was black, covered in soot. He was frozen in his spot, and there was a scorch mark where I had been sitting.

I looked above where I had been, and noticed that the ceiling was also scorched. Then I looked down at my feet and noticed that both the ceiling and floor where I was also had scorch marks.

"I think… you should practice that outside." Tony finally said. "Don't need bolts of lightning destroying the house."

'Bolts of… wow.' I thought to myself. "Awesome."

* * *

**Hey! I'm updating really fast! I hope you all are enjoying this, and I hope that Penny is slightly more realistic than she was in the beginning. **** Thanks for all of you who favoreted, reviewed, or followed. **

**Thanks to my Beta, (even if you have disappeared)  
Till next time  
Cp**


	19. Flashbacks Are Witches With A 'B'(unbeta

The Unknown Variable

**Hey people, yup, another chapter! Yay! I own nothing but my original ideas. If you cannot tell then go re-watch the Marvel and JK Rowling films that should clear that up.**

**Oh, this is his full name, I looked it up.**

"ANTHONY EDWARD STARK!"

I jumped awake, hitting my head on the dashboard in the process. I groaned as the bright lights blinded me for a moment.

Tony jumped awake besides me, yelling "Yin…" before he realized that we were in the lab, not the cave; and Yinsen was dead.

Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I tried to recall how I fell asleep. The last I remember was helping Tony work on his Reactor after cleaning the scorch marks off of the floor. We couldn't do much about the ones on the ceiling.

Tony and I must have fallen asleep while working.

'Not surprising' I thought to myself.

I looked over to see Pepper standing there with her hands on her hips, and a furious expression on her face.

My eyebrows knitted in confusion, what was she so mad about?

Tony groaned besides me before shaking his head and saying, "Jarvis, morning protocol please."

"Of-course sir. It is seven oh two, clear blue skies are the forecast for the day. It is currently seventy-four degrees outside and the high for today is eighty-one. I have bypassed sixteen phone calls from the press, called security on twenty four trespassers and you have sixteen thousand unread emails in your inbox."

I whistled, Jarvis had been busy but when wasn't he? If it was seven, then we hadn't been asleep for very long, probably less than an hour.

'That's why I didn't have a nightmare… wasn't deep enough asleep to have one.' I reasoned.

"Please notify security that if one more person gets on my property I will not only sue the perpetrator but also the whole staff. Continue to ignore all phone calls from numbers not on list 4.0 and sort all emails, and those not of importance level 9 delete." Tony said as he got out of the car and moved the half built Arc to his desk.

"Right away sir." Jarvis replied.

"Tony!" Pepper yelled tired of being ignored.

"What?" he replied, not looking up at her as he continued to rearrange his desk.

"Do you care to explain what that was?" She asked her voice hard.

"What what was?" Tony asked as he threw a pile of papers into the trash.

"Arg! Tony what was that! You and Penny asleep, together?" Pepper asked.

That caused Tony to finally look at her, before glancing over at me, and back at his employee.

"That? That was nothing… we were working late and fell asleep." Tony shrugged.

"That was not nothing! Care to explain why she is only wearing your shirt!" Pepper said, her voice rising.

"I have underwear on too you know." I stated crossing my arms over my chest.

"That's not the point…" Pepper stated as Tony mouthed, 'not helping.'

"In case you forgot," I continued, "I don't have any clothes with me! Let alone pajamas!"

Pepper opened her mouth before shutting it again; obviously she had forgotten that little detail.

"And I would appreciate it if you would stop implying that Tony and I are doing something inappropriate. I thought we dealt with this months ago." I stated coldly.

"I am shock that you think I would take advantage of a teenager." Tony said coldly. His eyes narrowed. "Is that all Ms. Potts?"

Pepper sighed and said, "That is all Mr. Stark." Before walking back up the stairs.

There was an awkward silence until Tony said, "Well, now that that's out of the way."

"Happy will be coming at eight to take you to… where ever you live, to get your stuff. He will also take you to whatever errands you need to run. Then you'll come back here and unpack. Oh…" Tony went to continue but I interrupted him.

"What do you mean unpack?" I asked, my eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"Oh, you're moving in! Didn't I tell you?" Tony said, as he told Dummy to clean up the foam from last night.

"No…" I said, but before I could say another word Tony spoke.

"Look, you're my daughter, and while I know that we haven't talked about it, I don't think it would be smart to let the whole world know…"

"I agree," I interrupted.

"But I still want you to live with me. You can stay in a guest room and put your stuff in storage until we remake a room and everything. And before you say it, I don't care what Pepper thinks. This is my house, well… our house now." Tony said as he avoided Dummy with the mop.

I was touched, and a large smile appeared on my face as I sprinted across the room and threw my arms around Tony.

"Thanks," was all I said.

"No problem. Oh, one more thing." Tony said as he opened an envelope and pulled out a debit card.

"This is yours. It's all set up. I called it in while we were at the base. There's currently $500,000 on it right now, and it refills from my own bank account every month. Think of it as an allowance." Tony said, handing me the blue, plastic card.

"You didn't have to…" was all I could say.

"But I did, and you are keeping it." Tony said. "Now, go get dressed, Happy will be here soon. I'm going to finish my Arc, and sort through some stuff."

"Ok," I said, still in a daze, "Oh, does Pepper have to know?" I asked him.

Tony froze for a moment before replying. "Not if you don't want her to."

I nodded, "Not now… but maybe some time."

I scowled as I slammed the door shut on Tony's car. Not caring about damaging the car. I was not happy.

After I had put the clothes back on from yesterday, and met Happy, I regulently gave him my old address.

He was appalled when he realized what part of the city I was staying in, and refused to take me until I told him I was going to be staying with Tony now.

When I got my apartment I found that not only had the lock been changed, but someone else was living there now. When Happy and I (he refused to leave me alone) approached the manager, he told me that all of my stuff had been auctioned off two months ago to pay for numerous bills.

I was ready to fry him if Happy hadn't been there. Everything I had owned, everything my mother had owned, had been in that apartment.

After twenty minutes, and quite a few threats on Happy's part, he finally admitted that they couldn't sell everything; and brought out a box of my stuff.

Most of the items in the box were junk, but I was happy to find my mother's locket, that Tony had given her for her Sweet Sixteen, was still there. Along with my notebook (that was written in code) and my backup hard drive chip that contained many of my worms, viruses, and programs.

I managed a smile as Happy decked the manager in the face when he made a snide comment about my body. That was when I learned Tony told him to protect me, from everything. Not to mention I doubt Happy would let anything happen to me. It seemed that Tony wasn't hesitating in stepping into 'overprotective' mode.

After that, we drove to a high-end department store, and they didn't recognize me. (It's not like I was mentioned at all at the press conference.) Apparently everyone had ether forgotten about me or thought I had died in Afghanistan.

I bought lots of clothes, though Happy told me he thought I was going to buy more. I got everything from earrings to sneakers, from sweats to a nice dress. I didn't buy a whole lot of stuff, like a normal teenage daughter of a billionaire with their own debit card would. I just bought everything I needed to replace everything I had lost.

While I was in the dressing room trying things on, I called the bank (on my renewed smart phone) and the hospital I grew up in, and paid the remainder of both my mom's and my medical bills.

After shopping, I got a quick trim at a local barber shop; returning my hair to its former length. Then I called MIT, (only the administrator knew me, I did my online classes with another false name) and after paying them a few thousand dollars, I was reenrolled into my online classes, on my way with my PHD's.

When I called the hospital, I found out that Dr. Millod had retired right after I went missing. Deciding to visit him, along with Ashley and her new born child, we drove home.

I stalked into the house with an irritated look on my face. While the outing hadn't been completely bad, I was still angry that everything was gone. A lot of my stuff had been my mothers, and the loss had hit me hard.

Happy was bringing my clothes in, so I stormed up the stairs and dumped the box of my stuff on my new bed.

Two random books, an old poster, a broken coat hanger, (I wondered why that wasn't in the trash) a ripped birthday card, a large river rock, my mom's locket, my notebook, the computer chip, and a single photo of Mom, Dr. Millod, Ashley, and I were everything that was in the box.

Gone were the photo album, the countless knickknacks that held memories, gone were all of my mom's paintings. The very thing she worked for.

I sighed again, and after taking the shopping bags from Happy, I jumped in the shower.

The hot water cascaded down my back, the water pressure much more powerful than the Base's. I was glad that Tony had added an extra casing around my Core so that it was water resistant. As I turned my face into the water, I gasped as I fell to the ground.

_My lungs were on fire_

My eyes squeezed shut, my head in my hands.

_I couldn't breathe_

I gasped for breath against the darkness closing in.

_Water filled my lungs and shorted out my core_

I clutched my chest as water fell down my face.

_Air… I needed air…_

My chest constricted and I couldn't breathe. Pure panic clawed at my stomach, and I tried to breathe.

_I couldn't breathe…_

My head hit the wall, and I grabbed onto the curtains….

_Help…_

A cold hand grabbed onto my arm and lifted me up. I vaguely realized the water stopping or getting wrapped in a towel.

My head was pulled onto something soft as I struggled to control my sobs.

After a moment my breathing calmed and my vision cleared. My thoughts slowly returned to me as I blinked away the tears.

'What was that?' I thought to myself, as the fear slowly faded.

I noticed that someone was stoking my hair and humming a tune in my ear. I thought at first that I was unconscious until I realized that my pillow was moving. Pulling my head back I looked up and my eyes met Death's.

My cheeks flushed as I realized that not only was Death holding me, but also I was wearing nothing but a towel; one that _he_ put one me.

His silver eyes looked at me in concern and I managed a small smile before I stood up and he vanished from the room.

"Oh thank God." I whispered to myself, glad that I hadn't had to ask him to leave.

I was getting dressed when a knock on the door drew my attention back to reality.

"Penny, you ok? Jarvis said there was some commotion." Tony's muffled voice filtered through the door.

"I…I'm ok. I'll be down in a second." I replied, trying to keep my voice steady.

I finished getting dressed and walked down to the lab, ignoring Pepper who was working in the living room.

"What happened?" Tony asked, once he saw me.

'My eyes are probably still red.' I realized.

"I would stay out of water for a while." I told my father, causing him to look at me in confusion.

"Did it disrupt your Arc?" Tony asked me, and I could see the gears turning in his head.

"No," I said before pausing a moment, "But flash-backs are bitches."

**Well, here you are another lovely chapter. Someone pointed out that there isn't a lot of a mother's influence in Penny. Well I have reasoning for that and it might show up in a chapter. If it doesn't then I'll explain it sooner or later. **

**Hope you all enjoyed it. Thanks Expecto Prongs  
Cp**


	20. Just a Snag(unbeta'd)

The Unknown Variable

**If you recognize it outside of this Fic, I don't own it.**

"Tony…" I was not whining, I do not whine. "I can do it. Come one."

"Nope, Pepper can do it." Tony replied as he inspected his new glowing Arc.

"But Pepper doesn't know anything about the Reactor. I do, why can't I just put it in?"

"Because." He replied simply, walking over to the desk to page Pepper.

"But I can do it!" I stated again, wondering why on earth Tony wouldn'd let me help.

"I helped put the base plate it!" I stated, before realizing what I said and covering my mouth.

Tony and I had come to an unspoken agreement back in the cave, I don't mention working on him with Yinsen, and he tries to forget what happened.

Tony froze for a moment, and I wondered if I pushed a bit too far before he said, "I know."

He pressed a button on his screen and said, "Pepper. How big are your hands?"

'Great,' I thought to myself 'please let Pepper be in a good mood.'

I was still grumbling to myself as Pepper walked down the stairs and typed in the code for the door. I was sitting in my desk chair, though I wasn't by my desk. Instead I was sitting across from Tony, spinning in my chair; ready to help in a moment's notice if Pepper messed up.

"Hey," Tony said as Pepper walked in, confusion on her face.

Tony was all hooked up to the monitors, like I was a few hours ago. He was wearing pathetic stripped hospital pants that I wondered why he had. A towel was on his lap, I also wondered why he needed that, and his new Reactor was sitting in his hand.

"Let's see them. Show me your hands." Tony said as Pepper walked across the floor. "Let's see them." He restated as Pepper lifted up her hands and wiggled her fingers.

"Arg." I moaned softly to myself. I swear; Tony had better have a good reason for doing this. I might not save him if Pepper messed up.

"Oh, wow. They are small. Very petite, indeed." He stated as Pepper approached him.

"I have smaller hands than she does." I grumbled quietly.

I still wasn't in a good mood. Dealing with dirty minded apartment managers, and flashbacks had not started the day off well.

"I just need your help for a sec." He told her as he stared down as the new Reactor.

"Oh, my God, is that the thing that's keeping you alive?" Pepper said as she neared him and saw the old Arc in his chest.

"It was," Tony replied, "It is now an antique."

Pepper couldn't take her eyes off of the old Arc, and didn't realize she was staring until Tony looked up at her; causing her to jump.

"This is what will be keeping me alive for the foreseeable future." Toy replied lifting up the new Arc. "I'm swapping it up for an upgraded unit, and I just ran into a little speed bump."

'Speed bump?' I asked myself, 'Tony didn't mention a _speed bump_!' I hissed to myself.

Ok, so replacing a normal, fluxional Arc wasn't that hard… and I suppose Pepper could manage. But if something was wrong… I should be the one doing it. _I_ was his daughter after all.

"Speed bump, what does that mean?" Pepper asked, sounding uncertain.

"It's nothing; it's just a little snag." Tony replied, sounding tired, and I had to remember that Tony only got less than an hour of sleep last night. "There's an exposed wire under this device. And it's contacting the socket wall and causing a little bit of a short."

Tony said as he unplugged the Arc, not looking at it in the process. I grimced, I knew a lot about Tony's Arc, as well as my own, and I knew that the 'little short' was anything but. It was also probably very painful.

'How long has that 'short' been there?' I wondered. If it had been there an extended amount of time it would hurt a lot… and had been. Constant pain, been there done that _not _pleasant.

"It's fine." Tony said as he yanked out the Arc. I saw his jaw clench in suppressed pain and wanted to run over and help. I didn't know if my spark pulses could take away pain, but I was one second away from finding out.

"W…Wha..t do you want me to do?" Pepper asked as Tony handed her the Reactor.

"Put that on the table over there." He said, passing the devise off. "That is irrelevant."

"Oh my God!" Pepper said again, while putting the Arc down carefully.

"I want you to reach in, and you're just gonna gently lift the wire out." He told the older redhead.

"Is it safe?" Pepper asked, and to me she sounded faint. But I might be biased… a bit.

"Yeah," Tony tried to reassure her, "it should be fine. It's like Operation, you just don't let it touch the socket wall or it goes "beep"."

I wanted to snap at Pepper, we didn't know how long Tony could do without his Reactor, and I wasn't in the mood to find out. Not to mention without the Arc he would be in unimaginable pain from not only the short, but the shrapnel as well.

'Hurry up' I thought to myself, my knuckles turning white as I gripped the armrests. I had stopped spinning the chair when Pepper walked in, though it seemed like she didn't see me. I wasn't invisible…was I?

"What do you mean, "Operation"?" Pepper asked. I groaned and wanted to burry my head in my hands. She didn't even know that classic game? Even I did and I had the most antisocial life in existence. She must have always been a stick in the mud.

"It's just a game, never mind." Tony said, sighing and almost giving up on trying and explain it to her.

"Just gently life the wire okay? Great." Tony said. It was not great, his gaze had become steely and I could tell he was in pain. I had to bite my tongue from snapping at the woman. If I had been doing it, it would have been done already.

"Okay," Pepper replied hesitantly her hand hovering over Tony's chest.

She slowly started to put her hand in the socket before hissing and pulling it out.

I really did groan that time, though the adults ignored me; causing me to wonder if I was really invisible.

"You know, I…I don't think that I'm qualified to do this." Pepper stated nervously,

"No shit Sherlock." I said sarcastically before I could stop myself. But they both ignored me, **again**. I hated being ignored.

"No, you're fine." Tony said, trying to sooth her nerve, "You're the most capable, qualified, trustworthy person I've ever met. You're gonna do great."

My heart ached at his words… but I held my tongue. He had known Pepper for years, he had barely met me four months ago.

'He might be trying to get back on Pepper's good side.' The rational side of my brain said. Part of me agreed, but it didn't help the emotional pain go away.

"But Penny…" Pepper started, and I could hear some underlying emotion that was coming into play.

"I'm asking you." Tony said, not even looking in my direction. I wondered if Pepper even knew I was down here. "Is it too much of a problem to ask? 'Cause I'm…"

Tony fumbled for words but Peppers resolve had already crumbled. "Okay, okay."

"I really need your help here." He continued while Pepper agreed.

'Totally kissin' up to her.' I grumbled to myself. It was obvious the feelings between the two. That might be part of the reason why we clashed so much. Pepper had been the only one in his life for so long, and now I'm here to fight for his affection. Though a different kind than she was.

"Okay," Tony said, and slowly sucked in a breath against the pain as Pepper slowly reached her hand down into the socket.

Even from across the room I could hear the squishing sound and shuttered. Ok, maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to let Pepper do it. That was gross.

"Oh, there's pus!" Pepper said, her face scrunching up in disgust.

"It's not pus." Tony corrected, "It's an inorganic plasmic discharge from the device not my body."

Pepper cried out as she moved her hand around before saying, "It smells!"

'And you just noticed that know? It's been exposed to the air for quite some time.' I commented silently.

"Yeah it does." Tony agreed, and I wondered how long he had to put up with the odor.

"The copper wire. The copper wire, you go it?" Tony asked as Pepper looked up at the ceiling.

"Okay," She said closing her eyes for a moment before slowly lifting her hand out. "I got it! I got it!"

"Ok you got it?" Tony asked at the same time.

"Now," he continued, "Don't let it touch the AHHHH …sides when you're coming out!"

The heart monitor went red for a moment with a loud buzz that corresponded with Tony's shout. I was grinding my teeth together.

"I swear… if you kill my dad I'll fry you like a bug…" I mumbled under my breath in warning.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Pepper said as she continued to pull the wire out.

"That's what I was trying to tell you before." Tony said, trying to catch his breath.

"Okay now," Tony said, as we both watched the long wire extruding from his chest. "now make sre that when you pull it out, you don't…" just as Tony said that Pepper wrapped her hand around the wire and pulled on it…hard.

"Idiot." I mumbled, genially fearing for my father's life.

"There's a magnet at the end of it!" Tony cried out in alarm as the heart monitor started beeping like crazy. I was already out of my chair before Tony stilled me with a look.

"That was it, you just pulled it out!" Tony stated, as he went ridged and leaned back against the chair…whatever he was sitting on.

"Oh, God!" Pepper exclaimed again. How many times was she going to say that?

"Okay, I was not expecting…" Tony stated, and I saw him trying to fix the situation without getting me involved.

"Okay what do I do?" Pepper asked as she moved the magnet back towards his chest.

"Don't put it back in!" Tony snapped, raising his hand to top Pepper.

He hissed and his body continued to freeze up and his eyes closed for a moment while he tried to control his breathing.

"What's wrong?" Pepper asked looked down at Tony in worry.

"Nothing," Tony said, trying to dismiss it, "I'm just going into cardiac arrest…"

"What!" Pepper exclaimed.

" 'Cause you yanked it out like trout…" Tony continued, if I hadn't been so worried I would have snorted. Tony… always trying to make light of the situation.

"What? You said it was safe!" Pepper hissed,

"We gotta hurry. Take this," Tony said, "Take this." He repeated with more urgency as he handed her the new Reactor. "You gotta switch it out really quick."

"Okay, okay." Pepper repeated again. "Tony?"

"What?" Tony almost growled, and I seriously wanted to hit her. Now was not the time for heart to hearts!

"It's going to be okay." Pepper said, what was he? Five?

"Is it?" Tony asked.

"It's going to be ok." Pepper restated, "I'm gonna make this okay." She said determined.

"Let's hope." Tony replied with a touch of sarcasm.

_Finally_ Pepper reached back into the socket to connect the new Arc.

"Okay, you're gonna attach that to the base plate. Make sure you…" Tony said as there was a loud click and Tony yelled from both pain and relief.

The heart monitor went back to normal and Pepper tried not to touch anything with her plasma covered hands.

"Was that so hard?" Tony asked while Pepper looked like she was about to cry… or hit him. I couldn't tell. "That was fun, right? Here, I got it. I got it. Here."

I silently wondered what was with everyone repeating everything a bazillion times… it was annoying. I finally sat back down with a flop, and my breathing returned to normal. Tony and Pepper were going to give me a heart attack one of these days; and it was almost physically impossible for me to have one!

"Nice," Tony commented as he checked the Arc and looked at Peppers hands. I had a feeling he was talking about both.

Pepper on the other hand, still looked ready to pass out.

"Are you okay?" Pepper asked in whispered tones.

"Yeah, I feel great." Tony replied flippantly. "You okay?" He copied her, a large grin appearing on his face.

He started laughing and I could tell Pepper was only a second away from wiping the plasma all over my dad.

"Don't ever, ever, ever, ever ask me to do anything like that ever again." Pepper stated. It was the perfect moment… just a few inches and Tony would be covered in the plasma. I could tell she was contemplating it; and I wondered if Tony noticed… probably.

"I don't have anyone but you." Tony said and that comment almost brought tears to my eyes as I felt my heart rip in too.

"You and Penny. But seriously, was I supposed to ask her to do that?" Tony added on as he saw the look on my face out of the corner of his eye.

'Oh, he is definitely getting it for that.' I thought, as I shot him a look at promised retribution. He gave a half smirk in response, to both me and Pepper…not that Pepper knew that.

"Anyway." Tony said, pulling the monitoring wires off of his chest and stood up removing the towel from his lap. Pepper shook the plasma off of her hands now that Tony wasn't looking.

"What do you want me to do with this?" Pepper asked, holding the old Arc.

"That?" Tony said, barely glancing at it for a moment before saying "Destroy it. Incinerate it."

Pepper's question made me wonder what Tony did with my Arc. Oh well, he probably told U or Butterfingers to destroy it.

"You don't want to keep it?" Pepper asked, staring down at the glowing Arc.

"Pepper," My dad said as he tossed down the towel, "I've been called many things. "Nostalgic" is not one of them."

"Will that be all, Mr. Stark?" Pepper asked lightly.

"That will be all, Miss Potts." Tony replied. "Hey butterfingers, come here." He said to the robot that had been standing guard the whole time. "What's all this stuff doing on top of my desk? That's my phone, that's a picture of me and my dad."

I wondered why he had that on his desk, maybe for appearances, before Tony continued, "Right there, in the garbage. All that stuff."

Tony instructed his robot before drumming his fingers on his Reactor and watching Pepper leave.

And with that, the life threating act was done. Now, I just had to corner Tony and bug him until he told me whether or not we needed to do something to replace the magnet that Pepper pulled out. (And I was pretty sure we did.) Didn't want him to kneel over? Did we? Nope.

Oh, and I had to find a way to prank him in retribution.

**Well there ya go. For some odd reason this chapter was harder to write than some of the others. Oh well, I hope you can't tell. **

**Thanks to all of you wonderful people,  
and Expecto Prongs for Beta'ing.**

**Later,  
Cp**


	21. As Normal(unbeta')

The Unknown Variable

**Hey all, Another update. I own nothing but my own thoughts so go bug some other girl who's having a bad day.**

**(Chapter 11 has been Beta'd)**

* * *

Tony was currently out, he had said something about Rhodey before leaving abruptly; and I had nothing it to do… sort of. I was just bored.

Pepper was set on ignoring me, and personally I was glad. For some reason she just got on my nerves. I had already set up my temporary room. I hadn't changed the guest room all that much; I added a few book to the top of the dresser, and threw some things out that had been left by previous guests.

I sighed as I glanced around the room once before walking down both sets of stairs to the lab. After typing in the security code I quickly found my laptop and sat down at my new desk. While my desk was neither nearly as nice nor as high-tech as Tony's, it was nice to have a personal work space.

I powered up my Tablet, and sync'd it to my Laptop, transferring everything over to my laptop. Backing up files were a pain but also a lifesaver.

I groaned as I logged into my online MIT account, I had a lot of catching up to do. School work stunk.

* * *

By the end of the day, for most people, I managed to get quite a bit done, even if I hadn't been in the mood for it.

Pepper had finally left for the night. She hadn't been happy when she discovered that I would be living in the mansion for a while, but thankfully didn't pursue it and let it go. As soon as Pepper was gone, Tony really started working.

"Jarvis, you up?" Tony asked as his bright blue keyboard, which was not in English, lit up.

"For you, sir, always." Jarvis replied instantly, oh, you gotta love that AI.

"I'd like to open a new project file, index as Mark Two." I heard Tony say, and I snuck a glance up from the physics paper I was reading to see him staring at his triple monitors; one holding the schematics for the original suit, the other two were running multiple programs and equations.

I quickly glanced back down at the incredibly boring paper. I had to read the twenty-seven page theoretical report and then create my own 'well thought out and argued' response. Whether I agreed or disagreed didn't matter.

While the subject of the paper was fascinating enough, whoever had written it clearly had not writing skills. It was a slow read and every other paragraph repeated statements that had already been said. It was practically useless.

My eyes snapped back towards Tony as Jarvis asked, "Shall I store this on the Stark Industries Central Database?"

I snorted, I doubt my father would place the schematics and plans there, too many people had access; and right now, they were being paranoid. They had both agreed on that this morning.

"Actually," Tony said using an electric pen looking devise to drag the schematics over to his holographic table, "I don't know who to trust right now. Till further notice, why don't we just keep everything on my private server?"

The hologram table was only the first step in Tony's new technology. He had created all of it himself and I knew that once he got going again, it would soon be updated.

"Working on a secret project, are we, sir?" Jarvis asked, almost sounding regretful. I would have to ask him if Tony had any secret projects before, and if they had ended badly.

"I don't want this winding up in the wrong hands." Toy replied, as he started removing and remodeling the hologram. "Maybe in mine, it can actually do some good."

I glanced back at the paper, and groaned. I so did not want to do this right now. But since I was over three months behind in work; I needed to catch up. So, giving one last jealous glance at Tony and his own, much more interesting work, I refocused on the paper. Maybe I would just work a few more hours.

* * *

As it ended up, I only managed to continue reading another forty minutes of the dreadful paper before I gave up, closed the program, and went over to help Tony.

He looked up at me as I stormed over, a scowl on my face.

"I thought you were working on school?" he asked, an amused expression on his face.

"Psh, I was. Too boring, now, how can I help?" I evaded his question before jumping into his project with him.

I gave him advise here and there, and my impute on some things he was contemplating. But in the end I ended up working on my own projects.

Pulling out my Tablet (I was sick of my laptop for the day) and started working on finding my internet worm that monitored all cyberonic activity connected to myself. On the internet or a privet server, it had access to them all.

Sadly, when my stuff was sold, so was the hard-drives, computers, and algorithms that acted as an anchor for my worm, causing it to drift about in cyberspace. It took me about an hour to locate it, and another twenty minutes to hack into its frame work. I hadn't put a back door in, (I never do for my own work) and my worm was locked up tight.

As I quickly re-anchored it to my Tablet (I would connect it to my Laptop later) I brought up all resent searches; both on my current ID and my original one, just in case.

Thankfully, there wasn't much. A few light searches from the Media that happened around the time we disappeared. But my eyes widened as I found the latest, and definitely most alarming search.

Aparenlty, that secret agency that was NOT part of the US government, as far as I could tell, now dubbed SHIELD, was digging around in my past.

It obviously wasn't I high priority search, or they would have discovered that my information was fake. While I was good, I had to ruggedly admit, so where they. They were still just pulling up the rather harmless, superficial information. The probe had obviously been put on the back burner, and wasn't a real search program. To me, it was obvious some rooky was handling the search and wasn't sure what he was doing.

While SHIELD wasn't close enough to discovering my façade enough to be worried, we were being paranoid. So, I added another job to my worm, to monitor the probe's activity closely, record anything they found, and alert me if they found anything to be worried about.

I blink slowly as I realized that I may have to hack my way into their database and plant another worm, so I could monitor their database specifically. I didn't want to stretch my star program too thin. That was how things slipped through the cracks.

I had never been the best law abiding citizen concerning the virtual world, and it was MY domain. I was not about to be found out now. I would disappear again if necessary; which would be hard considering Tony was now in my life. I wouldn't like it. But I would do it if push came to shove.

I sighed again as I pushed the thought out of my mind, and walked over to the kitchenette for a snack. For now, I just wanted to enjoy my time with my father.

* * *

I awoke with a start, a dream similar to the previous one hovered in the forefront of my mind. I was quick to push the struggling dream to the back of my mind. Something felt… off… I wasn't quite sure what. But I had learned long ago to trust my instincts.

"Jarvis? I called out, as I slipped from the warm bed and onto the cold floor. My voice echoed around my dark room, causing m to shiver as I turned on the lights.

I was in a long sleeve shirt and sweat pants. The shirt covered all of my burns completely. When I went shopping the previous morning, I had bought a large amount of long sleeve shirts, in various styles of-course. Even if lived in California and long sleeves weren't the best option of clothing, I didn't want to have to keep my invisibility up all the time.

"Yes, Miss Penny?" Jarvis replied immediately, his voice drifting down from the surround sound speakers. I was thankful for the AI, I don't know what ether of us would do without him.

"Is D…Tony still up?" I asked, catching myself as I almost called Tony "Dad".

"Your father is awake at the moment, Miss Penny…. He might appreciate your company tonight." Was Jarvis' hesitant reply. There was some underlying emotion in the AI's voice that confused me.

"What do you mean?" I asked my hand on the bedroom doorknob.

"You are not the only one with troubled dreams tonight Miss Penny." Jarvis' reply came, with a tone of slyness.

I practically smacked my head into the door as my mind translated Jarvis' semi evasive response. Tony was also suffering from nightmares. Of-course I wasn't the only one reliving the horrors of Afghanistan.

Tony also must've told Jarvis not to tell me, disturb me, or something along those lines. Thankfully, Jarvis had Tony's best interests at heart, and that meant finding loop holes in his orders at times.

Again, you gotta love that AI. "Thanks, Jar." I told him as I exited the room, and quickly descended the stairs.

I wasn't surprised to find Tony in the Lab; however I was surprised to find him sitting on the couch with a scotch in his hand. Perhaps I shouldn't have been that surprised.

He looked up at me as the glass door slid open, but his gaze returned to his drink almost instantly.

He wasn't drinking the amber liquid. Instead he was just swishing it around in the glass, contemplating drinking it.

I plopped down onto the brown leather couch next to him, and broke the silence.

"Couldn't sleep ether I suppose." I asked, not really expecting a response. I wasn't sure what I was doing, or what I should do. I just hoped I could get my dad into a better mood.

After a long moment of silence, where I contemplated the next thing to say; Tony surprised me by saying,

"Not really. But sleeping's never really been my forte."

I snorted at that, I wasn't too big on sleeping ether. I had slept enough while I was paralyzed, but Mom and Dr. Millod had always demanded I got at least seven hours of sleep. Not that I always did, mind you.

"Yeah, nightmares suck." I stated, agreeing to his unspoken message. Tony glanced at me in mild surprise, his right eyebrow elevated.

"Want to talk about it?" I said, before I realized just _what _I had said before snorting and added, "Ok, now that was cheesy."

That got Tony to snort and roll his eyes. Starks have never been good with emotion, aloud or mentally. I suppose I was a bit better, growing up with my Mom and all, but I was no shrink.

I wasn't sure what to say, I defiantly didn't want to leave Dad here brooding with alcohol. While I was sure it had happened many times before, I just wasn't comfortable with leaving him like that. Not now that he had me.

We just sat there in silence; I fidgeted every few seconds, and Tony still sloshing his drink. All of the sudden, Tony's gripped on the cup changed and I ducked as he turned away from me and threw it to the wall.

Then he sat back down as if nothing happened and turned to me, "So, tell me about your childhood."

Clearly puzzled, and definitely confused (I HATE being confused), but not going to tell Tony no I started tell him about the time Mom wanted me to learn how to play the Piano, and how it ended up with Dr. Millod having keyboard keys super-glued into his hair for a month because he refused to cut his hair.

Within five minutes I had Tony chuckling, and by the end of the story both of us were laughing our heads off.

The night continued with Tony and I trading stories, both hilarious and depressing, about the years we missed.

Later that night, or morning depending on how you look at it, when we both fell asleep once again on each other's shoulders, neither of us had nightmares.

A great way to end a normal day for the Starks; or as normal as we can get.

* * *

**(Ok, so, I'm going to camp next week. but have alot of chapters to put up. (and i mean ALOT) so i can ether upload them all today, or this can be the last chapter until next week. You all have two hours to vote, you better hurry)**

**Not a very important chapter, just a filter, but the end was cute. ^.^ SHIELD is becoming an issue, but that's still on the horizon. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

**Thanks to everyone, and Expecto Prongs my Beta,  
Later,  
Cp**


	22. Better Than Aspirin(unbeta'd)

The Unknown Variable

**Nothing that belongs to Marvel/Disney is mine, nor anything JK Rowling has claim to. They own the rights, how could I?**

* * *

This time, Tony managed to get up before Pepper showed up, so we didn't have a repeat. I crashed on the couch for about another half hour before slowly getting up, to re-attempt to shower.

Thankfully, Tony had some advice on this matter. "Just don't stick your face under the spray."

I wanted to slap my forehead against the wall, duh. I should have been able to think of that.

However, when I said that aloud, by accident, Tony just laughed and said, "It's good that there are some things your old man can still teach you!"

In return I sent him a mocking glare before marching up the stairs to get ready for the day.

After successfully showering without causing a flashback, I grabbed some toast off the counter (wondering how it got there in the first place) and went back down towards my desk to work.

When Pepper showed up, I both tried and failed to help her with Stark Industries paperwork. Pepper had refused my help, and when I complained to Tony he just said not to worry about it. I was getting 'paid' no matter what.

Shipments of various parts arrived around noon, causing me to gap. Tony must have really good delivery; we hadn't even been home the standard two days.

"But…when did you order all that?" I asked as Dummy, U, and Butterfingers slid the boxes down the driveway ramp.

Tony laughed and shook his head, "Yesterday afternoon. When you're a billionaire, overnight shipping means, overnight shipping."

* * *

Over the next few days Tony and I managed to get a lot done, in our respective areas. I got almost all the way caught up in all of my class, (that paper was still giving me a headache though. I understood the concept of the theory, but the way it was worded and the rest of the paper was just frustrating me.) and I had restarted the program to rebuild Stark Industry's Firewalls, a new feature included scanning all outgoing data to check for security breaks as well as suspicious activity.

While I hadn't spoken to Tony about the matter, I had a feeling he had similar thoughts. No one outside of the top part of the company knew Jericho's demonstration was then and there. So we must have ether a bad bug, a spy, or a worm. Not in the digital sense.

Pepper had been avoiding me, though any time we talked, we were civil. Pepper just stopped coming down to the lab at all, which saved Tony from having to hide the guts of the new suit.

"ARG!" I growled as I put my head in my hands, I was not happy. This whole paper was one of the last things I had to do for Physics before I could start my dissertation. It Was Annoying Me.

"Next." Tony said to the bot, I wasn't sure which one, "Up," he said again.

I looked over to see Tony working on a boot of the armor with Dummy holding a magnifying glass.

The boot smoked for a moment and Tony said, "Not in the boot, Dummy. Right here. You got me?"

Tony moved over to work on another fuse and said, "Stay put. Nice."

Dummy moved slightly and I was unable to see what he did but Tony said, "You're of no benefit at all. Move down to the toe. I got this."

"Ok, I'm sorry," Tony said in response to a few whirls and Dummy's arm moving. "Am I in your way?"

The boot smoked some more, before Tony moved down to work on the top of the foot, where Dummy was now working.

"Up," Tony said as he saw were Dummy was. Dummy must have done something I couldn't see for Tony said, "Screw it. Don't even move."

I could tell Tony was getting annoyed so I stood up and walked over.

"You are a tragedy." Tony commented as I appeared over his shoulder.

He quickly blew out the small welder and put it in a block of foam. He pressed a button and the back of the boot opened up, there was now three parts to the boot and enough room to put his foot in.

Tony glanced up and spotted me, "Weren't you writing a paper or something?" at the same time I said,

"Need any help?"

I cracked a grin as Tony shook his head, a small grin also forming on his face. "Just finished this one up. You finish your paper yet?"

My grin turned into scowl and I crossed my arms in front of my chest.

"It's annoying me." I stated my irritation clear in my tone.

Tony got a small smile on his face. "Well, let's see what's annoying you so badly. Hmm, I did it once I'm positive I can do it again."

Another grin split across my face as I realized that Tony was offering to help me. Once I had passed high school knowledge (before I was seven) Mom was unable to help me with school work. So anything I did have trouble with I had to figure out myself. It was nice that I now had someone to help.

"Well you see," I said, as I brought the Laptop over to Tony, "It's like this…"

* * *

An hour later, a lot of complaining from Tony, I fully understood what the paper was trying to say and practically had my whole paper worked out. How? Well, while we were criticizing the author we discovered that he had practically messed up and missed a big part of the theory.

Tony and I then had a long discussion on the topic, the pros and cons of the theory, and what parts were valid or not. Then we discovered the error, which I have a feeling was in there on purpose, and talked about the three different ways to fix it.

I was typing away quickly as Tony when over to Dummy, who had knocked over a soda onto the holographic table while we were talking. Thankfully the soda didn't do any damage.

Another two hours had both me and Tony standing in the middle of the lab. Tony had both boots on and all three bots around him. He was standing on a testing pad, and I was watching from the sidelines.

Because of the discussion with Tony, I had managed to get the paper done and handed it in to my teacher a lot faster than I thought. I only had my two dissertations to do for both Physics and Electrical Engineering. Sadly, I had discovered, that part of the final for Electrical Engineering involved me actually building something was went along with my dissertation and was never seen before.

I wasn't that worried. With everything that was in the lab, and Tony's amazing delivery system, I was sure I could manage something. I just wasn't sure what yet.

"Okay," Tony said causing me to shift my focus off of project ideas and back onto Tony's reckless experiment. "Let's do this right."

Tony back up into the middle of the test pad and say, "Start mark, half a meter, and back, and center."

Tony was taping this, or, the bots were, that way we could go over the footage and see what needed to be recalibrated and improved.

Tony took a deep breath and turned to Dummy, "Dummy, look alive. You're on standby fore fire safety."

I wasn't sure what came over my dad to give Dummy, who was known to love foam, a fire extinguisher, but I knew he spoilt those bots too much. Eh, probably me too, come to think of it.

"U," Tony said to the bot holding the camera, "Roll it."

Butterfingers was charging, he had touched something he wasn't supposed to and was 'grounded'. I had found it funny that Tony had been fathering long before he met me, he had the bots. Which were very childlike.

Tony put both of the hand controls around his fingers, and shot me a smile.

"Be careful!" I exclaimed, ready on the sidelines in case something happened. He nodded to me and said,

"Okay. Activate hand controls." Tony said, as he moved slightly back and forth in the boots, trying to figure out what would be the best position to take off. He kept his elbows close to his waste and held his arms out as straight as he could.

"We're gonna start off nice and easy." Tony said, causing me to raise an eyebrow in shock.

Tony, starting off nice and easy… not possible. Just not possible.

"We're gonna see if 10% thrust capacity achieves lift." Tony told the camera.

'Ah-oh,' I thought. "Um… Dad I don't think…"

"And three," Tony said, not hearing me. "two, one."

Tony pressed down on the buttons instents. Which caused the boots to smoke and flash. I momentarraly saw him fly through the air in a back flip.

And crash face first, upside down into the wall/ceiling with sparks, before fall to the ground.

"Dad!" I yelled, and my eyes widened as I realized just what I said as I ran over.

'it's ok, he probably didn't notice.' I thought to myself. Just as Dummy sprayed Tony with the extinguisher; and kept on spraying.

"Are you ok?" I asked, putting up a shield to block the foam. I used my shield to wipe off all of the foam off of Tony and knelt by his side.

"….were right…." He mumbled in pain, his eyes blurred.

"What?" I asked, confused. I wondered if my impulse sparks could block the pain…hmm….

"You were right. Ten percent. Bad idea." Tony replied weakly.

"Well, at least Dummy was paying attention." I stated in a weak attempt of humor.

"Come on," I said, slowly helping Tony to his feet. "Let's get you some Aspirin."

" …'ta get these off…" Tony said lifting one foot a few inches off the ground. Those boots were heavy.

After getting Dummy to bring Tony's chair over I sat him down and slowly we began to remove the boots.

With every little movement, Tony winced. Biting my lip, after getting the boots off, I said.

"Stay still for a sec, I want to try something." I closed my eyes and concentrated. 'I hope this works…'

"Penny…" Tony said, eyeing me in caution… I think it was caution. "What are you…"

Before Tony finished his question my white sparks flashed between my fingers for the first time in days, and I grabbed hold of Tony's arm.

He went ridged as the sparks danced across his arm, but sighed and relaxed as they seeped into his skin; blocking out the pain.

"Ah," he sighed, "Much better than Aspirin. I'll tell you that."

"Good," I said and removed my hand from his arm. "My sparks should numb the pain for about an hour… not really sure. But I doubt it would be more than two."

After a moment of silence, Tony said. "We need to figure out just what your sparks can do."

My eyes lit up, and I asked, "Does that mean practice?"

Tony nodded and chuckled when I beamed. "So, let's see what you can do."

"Now?" I asked? It wasn't exactly the earliest time of day anymore. Even to Starks it was late. Not to mention normal people.

"Now." Tony replied with a nod. "But outside."

* * *

**Another one in the bag. Hope you all are enjoying it. Thanks to everyone. Oh, and in a few chapters (not sure how many yet) Penny will meet her first Avenger! It will be awesome. Oh, and everything else will also be shifting a bit…heheh XD get ready. It's a fun ride.**

**Thanks to everyone and Expecto Prongs.  
Cp**


	23. Our Peace, Ruined(unbeta'd)

The Unknown Variable

**If you believe I own anything, I am flattered. But I do not, so send the flattery somewhere else.**

* * *

Tony was quick to find the problem and solution to the repulsor issue. The solution was simple, flight stabilizers; on his hands.

It had taken Tony less then twenty-four hours to completely design them both on the computer and holograph table.

You think that was slow for Tony? Well, he was also helping me with my Sparks training; which was coming along very well. But another thing that happened was our quiet life for the past week or so, was interrupted, and our peace, ruined.

It all started yesterday morning, like this.

* * *

Yesterday morning, 6:07 AM

I was startled awake by my Tablet, which I had left on the nightstand, going crazy; vibrating, screeching and wailing.

I quickly sat up and grabbed my loud Tablet and turned it on. A pit of dread appeared in my stomach as I saw the alerts flashing on the screen. I opened the taps and scanned the information. Apparently, whoever had been searching me, in SHIELD, had been replaced with ether a hacker with extremely high intellect; or a computer program. Either way, SHIELD was digging through my past; trying to find everything about me. At this rate, unless I did some serious recodification of my fake files, and practically got off the grid, I would be discovered by nightfall.

My breath caught and I dropped the Tablet onto my bed as panic set in. I knew that was going to happen eventually. But I wanted more time. I wanted more time to hang out with Tony, complete my schooling, have some fun and enjoy my tiny family that made up of me, Tony, Jarvis, and the Bots.

I hurriedly got out of bed and started throwing clothes onto my bed. I had to find a suit case… I need a fake passport…some idea… cash…

'Maybe Tony would lend me some.' I thought to myself, in panic. Then froze. I couldn't just _leave _this was my home now… I had a family… I took a deep breath to calm my nerves and shook my head.

I had to talk to Tony. I walked towards the door before freezing.

I then turned towards the bathroom, toilet first… and perhaps a shower.

* * *

One hot shower later, I threw a pair of jeans and a simple dark blue, long sleeve button up with a white tank-top underneath. I picked my Tablet back up, and started typing away at code. I had come up with the idea in the shower. If I couldn't completely hide, then I would slow them down as much as I could.

As I typed quickly, I could smell something drifting up from the kitchen.

'Huh, Pepper is early.' I thought.

Pepper had started bringing breakfast to us as soon as she realized that I wasn't going to cook (I didn't know how). Usually she didn't show up until after eight, but it was barely seven. This day was getting worse and worse.

I quickly finished the program, and closed my Tablet, put in my pocket before rushing down the stairs.

I slid through the living room and into the kitchen to see Pepper putting a dozen hot blueberry muffins, bacon, and fruit salad onto the island counter.

"Morning," I said as I sat down on a stool in front of the island and reached out to grab a muffin.

"Good Mornin…" Pepper trailed off as she stared at my hand holding the muffin. Her eyebrows creased together and I knew she was trying to piece something together.

"What was that?" Pepper asked quietly as I bit into the warm muffin.

I swallowed and said, with a hint of nervousness. "What was what?"

I instantly glanced down at my sleeve as I took another bite, and noticed that this button down's sleeves were slightly shorter than everything else I had been wearing. My eyes widened as I realized that my sleeve must have slid above my wrist as I reached for the muffin, exposing my burns.

'Shoot.' I hissed to myself. 'Please just let it go… not today…"

"Morning Pepper, Penny." Tony said as he walked into the kitchen. His hair was a mess and he was in a dirty pair of jeans. I had a feeling he stayed most of the night in the lab. I had too, but I went to bed around one thirty-ish.

"After breakfast," I said, ignoring the glare Pepper was now giving my arm, "I need to talk to you." I said, my voice a tad harder then I wished, but couldn't really help it.

I was having a bad day.

"What was that on your arm?" Pepper pressed again, I nearly groaned. Why couldn't she just let it go?

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I denied trying to come up with a good excuse. I couldn't just Spark her memory, Tony knew about that power and would instantly connect the dots. I instantly called upon my invisibility, keeping it close to my skin beneath the shirt. This did not need to be blown out of proportions.

Pepper's eyes narrowed in anger but she kept herself composed, "I saw something on your arm. I know I did. Your sleeve slipped."

I took another bite of the muffin and said, "Must have been a trick of the light."

Tony glanced between us in confusion, wondering if he needed to intervene.

"It was _not_." Pepper hissed, "I always thought it was weird, you wearing long sleeves all the time. But now, now it makes sense. You're trying to hide something."

My eyebrow twitched, but that was the only outward sign of my anger. 'Shoot, I didn't think anyone would figure it out… at least not _her_.'

"I'm not hiding anything," I stated, putting my muffin down and crossing my arms.

"Prove it." She challenged me, folder her arms across her chest. "Prove it."

"Hey," Tony said, stepping in finally. He never had to play peace maker before, but had been learning recently with all of our fights. "What's wrong?"

Tony locked eyes with me for a moment before locking eyes with Pepper.

She huffed and said, "I saw something on her arm, it wasn't a bracelet or something like that. She says nothing is there. She's lying!"

"I am not." I retorted, and glared at her. I did not want my scares becoming known, not going there; not in a million years.

"Prove it. Roll up your sleeves." Pepper said, her eyes hard pieces of ice.

"Penny," Tony said, and I dropped my scowl as I looked at my father. "Is there something on your arm?"

My tongue felt like led, as I lied to my dad, and guilt gnawed at my chest, but I said, "No."

"Then just roll up your sleeves, and we can go back to breakfast." Tony stated, trying to defuse the situation.

"Fine." I snapped, and rolled my sleeves up, showing my (apparently) bare and smooth arms. "Happy?"

"There was something there! I swear it!" Pepper said, she bit her lip for a moment before she continued, "It looked like a scar."

I turned my full force glare on the older redhead. 'How dare she!' I hissed, and I had to clench my fists to stop my sparks from flying.

Tony's eyes narrowed as he stared at my bear arms before stepping closer, reaching out and grabbing it softly.

His eyes widened, and mine closed, as he felt the hard scars underneath the invisibility.

"Penny," He said softly, but with a hard edge, "Drop it."

My eyes flashed open and I opened my mouth to argue but he just said, "Drop it, now."

His tone held a warning, and I could tell by the look in his eye, even though his face was the perfect mask, that it would be wise to listen.

"Wha…" Pepper started to ask as I closed my eyes and let the invisibility drop.

I heard both Pepper and Tony gasp, Pepper from both the sight of my scars and power, Tony, only because of the numerous scars scattered across my skin.

Tony was still holding my arm up, his grip tightened and I turned my head away, determined to ignore both of them.

I didn't look at him when Tony asked, his voice low, "Take the shirt off." With my eyes still closed I pulled off the button up and tossed it to the floor.

All of my scars were now exposed, the white tank-top revealing all of them. I was thankful that I had remembered to wear my Core cover… I had started not wearing it while around Tony. That would have made everything even worse.

"Penny…Penny." Tony said, as he turned me to face him, while his facial expression was soft, his eyes showed his true rage; and I couldn't help but cringe.

"Who did this?" He asked, as Pepper looked on with wide eyes.

I remained silent as my gut churned; I couldn't deal with this…not on top of everything else.

"Who did this?" He asked again, this time his voice harder, his fury sinking into his tone.

"It's nothing." I said, shaking Tony's hand off and pulling my invisibility back up. I didn't like the stares. Pepper narrowed her eyes at me but I ignored her. I just didn't care anymore.

"Nothing?" Tony repeated, choking on the word, "Penny, you were _tortured_!"

My eyes snapped to his and I almost growled my next words, "I know that. It's not a big deal. The nightmares are almost gone. Stop asking questions you already know the answer to!"

I didn't mean to snap at my dad, I really hadn't it was just a topic I was _not_ talking to him about. I swore that I would never talk about what Bald and his men did. I was standing by that.

He flinched as if struck but shook it off and said, "Why didn't you tell anyone?" I could hear the obvious unsaid, 'why didn't you tell me?'

"Same reason as you." I replied, and sighed. Now I was tired. This was emotionally draining and I still had to deal with SHIELD.

Tony gave a small nod of his head but I knew the conversation was far from over. It was just not going to continue in front of Pepper.

Who I had forgotten about. I turned back towards the red head as I grabbed my shirt off of the floor and slipped it back on.

Her eyes were flickering between me and my dad. 'Oh no, not that secret too…' I mentally pleaded. I couldn't take any more of this and it wasn't even eight yet.

When she opened her mouth the most unexpected words came out. "See! I told you she shouldn't be working for you."

"Pepper, we are not talking about this again." Tony said, and it was my turn to be confused (which I HATED)…had I mentioned that yet?

"But I was right! Scars, nightmares, lying, she isn't well enough to work here! Not to mention she hasn't done one this since she got here…" Pepper stated coldly, beginning a rant.

"She has been helping me, as well as working on her PHD's!" Tony said.

"School work doesn't count as working Tony! She isn't good for you. You've changed since she's been here. You're not you anymore…"

Tony interrupted again, "Maybe I wanted to change, perhaps I don't want to be that person anymore." His voice was cold, but I could see him withhold a sigh. This must be a common occurrence…how had I missed it?

"She's changed you! She isn't good for you. You need someone who can take care of you. I can do that…" Pepper's voice drifted out as rage filled my mind.

My vision turned red and I glared at Pepper. I took a deep breath, even if she was being a witch with a B, I needed to calm down. Bad things happened when I got angry, especially since my Core got a boost.

"Not to mention she's a frea…"

"Don't even finish that sentence." I hissed, before Tony could come to my defense. My fists were clenched and my eyes narrowed.

How dare she, she knew _nothing_! She was just jealous! My brain froze for a moment when I realized that she WAS jealous!

'huh, petty much?' I thought, tempted to saw it aloud.

"Penny!" My father exclaimed causing me to snap back to reality. Pepper was looking at me fearfully as Tony said, "Calm down…"

My eyebrows knitted together in confusion before I realized that my sparks were flaring…in a huge amount. The sparks themselves were now like small bolts, dancing across my whole body. My hair was frizzed out, and small sparks danced between the ends.

"Shit." I said as I stormed out of the kitchen onto the deck. Concentrating hard, I pulled up all my furry before realizing a large bright blue bold of lighting from my fingertips. The bolt flew through the air and down the Cliffside; smashing into one of the large rocks in the water below leaving nothing but rubble.

I turned on my heel and stormed passed Pepper and walked towards Tony; a plan forming in my mind.

I took a deep breath, trying to stop my wildly beating heart and said, my voice monotone, "I, Piper Penelope Telnets resign from the Employment of Anthony Stark." I turned on my heel once again and walked out of the kitchen. I glanced back at the horrified Tony Stark and added,

"I will be gone by Ten." And walked up the stairs. I had packing to do.

* * *

**I know, you all probably hate me for that. But it was getting long and it was a good part to break it in half. Personally this was supposed to all be one chapter but I decided to split it into two.**

**Thanks to all of you, And Expecto Prongs,  
Cp**


	24. Farewell, Miss Penny(unbeta'd)

The Unknown Variable

"** ."  
The space represents my disclaimer. I own nothing.**

* * *

I was throwing all of my clothes into a random suitcase I found in the back of the closet when Tony walked in.

"Penny, you can't quit!" he exclaimed, before he continued I raised my hand. Silencing him, I sent out the EMP like pulse to check for any bugs. I did this randomly all the time in the Lab, but not in the rest of the house. I found two, one in the mattress and another in the air vent.

I was quick to fry them, and then sat down on the bed.

"Look, I know that I should have talked to you first, but opportunity presented itself and I couldn't pass it up." I said, that and I had a feeling the kitchen was bugged as well. "Look, I needed an excuse to leave, Pepper gave me that. Now…" I said but Tony interrupted me.

"What do you mean you needed the excuse to leave? Don't listen to Pepper, you're _my_ daughter. You can stay as long as you want." Tony said sitting down next to me.

I sighed, we needed to work this out quickly. "I know, I don't want to leave but I need to SHIELD is looking into me, the Telnets me, and it won't be long before they realized that I'm _not _me." I sighed before I continued. "I need to ether disappear completely, or make myself seem like someone not worth looking into."

Tony frowned, and said, "What's SHIELD?"

I sighed and replied, "The anagram of the agency that Agent Coulson works for."

"Ah," Tony replied, we had discussed the Agent briefly one afternoon, but never paid much attention.

"I'm not going to push the reason you have to leave…" Tony started, and I sighed. I really didn't want to bring up all of my less then legal actions. Though I bet that Tony had a pretty good idea.

"But," I almost groaned at the 'but'. I had just gotten up to finish packing when he spoke. Causing me to sit back down again.

"That doesn't mean you _have_ to _really_ leave, right? What if we just made it appear like you left?"

My eyes widened and happiness swelled in my heart. If we could pull that off… how would we pull that off.

"How would we pull that off?" I asked, puzzled.

"You leave that to me. Just don't leave before noon… ok?" he said, as he stood up.

I trusted my father, I really did, but I couldn't help but worried. I didn't want him getting in trouble with SHIELD as well.

I sighed and said, "Ok." As I watched my father walked out the door. 'I hope he knows what he is doing.'

* * *

Tony's POV

As I walked down the stairs, my brain had already come up with a plan. It was simple, it was easier, and it would work.

Penny had changed my life so much, even before I knew she was Evanna's daughter. My heart had broken when Evanna walked out on me; and now that I knew the truth… that my _father_ had been the reason… it was another reason why I disliked the man.

Even though my heart still hurt knowing that I would never see Evanna again, I could see a lot of her in her…our…daughter. While Penny took after me, in a lot of ways, her temper, her passion, and her spirit were without a doubt her mothers.

I shook my head out of my thoughts as I walked passed Pepper without even a glance. Pepper was the new woman that had stolen part of my heart. The other part was reserved for Evanna and now Penny. I had denied it for ages beforehand, believing that my heart was only for Evanna. Even the one night stands over the years were in Evanna's memory. He only picked the girls that reminded him of her, similar hair, the same smile, similar perfume, and so on. He had been trying to fill the hole left by his young love for years.

And then Penny appeared, and in a flash he felt his heart healing. It wasn't until Penny told him that night in the cave, that she was both his _and _Evanna's daughter that he realized why his heart was healing. He might have lost his one love, but now he had a piece of her that was also _his_.

And he would be damned before he let anything happen to her. She was all he had left.

* * *

Penny POV

"Dummy! Stop! I said there! Not there!" I heard Tony cry as I walked down the stairs a few hours later. I had stayed in my room, not wanting to draw out our eventual goodbye. I had also been crying. I admit it, I was crying because everything had been ruined. Again.

"A little to the left Butterfingers, a little more, good!"

I sighed as I walked into the lab, only to look around in confusion. I could hear Tony, but I couldn't see him.

Sending out another pulse to check for bugs, I looked around for my father.

"Tony?" I called my voice rough from the extensive crying I had been doing. Suddenly Tony's head appeared behind a large toolbox that was backed up against the wall.

'What the hell?' I thought, it seemed as if Tony's head was coming right out of the wall.

"Come on in, Penny, I want to show you." Tony said before disappearing into the wall.

I walked forward, and it wasn't until I was only two feet away from the wall that I noticed it wasn't a wall, it was a door that looked like a wall, that was only open a crack.

I quickly opened the hidden door that made the whole part of the wall including the large tool box thing, swing forward as well.

Behind the door was a good sized room, it looked like it had once been used for storage or something but now, it was mostly empty; besides Tony, all three of the Bots, and a few random pieces of furniture.

My eyes widened at the sight. The room was mostly white, like the rest of the lab, and made out of concrete, but somehow Tony must have gotten his hands on blue paint, because U was holding a paintbrush in his claw and was trying, key word trying, to paint the walls. Butterfingers was rearranging a bookshelf, while Dummy was trying to sweep. Tony was playing with the wiring in part of the wall, right by the door.

"Come on, it won't be ready until tomorrow, but everything else is worked out." Tony said, as he stood up.

"Huh," was my extremely educated reply. It was all I could think of.

"Don't worry, I've got everything covered." Tony said reassuringly, as he pulled various pieces of papers out of his pocket. "Now, your fight's been taken care of, and so has your house. I'll have a taxi waiting for you at the airport to pick you up. Don't worry about fees it's already been paid for. Furniture will be delivered by morning, and all of the utilities should be on when you arrive.

"I know that you don't have a permit, so until you get your license I got you a bike. There'll be a grocer about a three minuet ride from your house, along with a Wal-Mart. The town's not that big, but I doubt you mind. I was worried about the heat but it's the most discreet town I could find that wasn't totally sketchy. Now," Tony went to continue but my brain finally caught up to the rest of me.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, totally bamboozled.

Tony sighed, before saying, "Why, the plan of-course."

"What plan?" I asked, not remembering any plan.

"The plan so you can live here, but not; at the same time!" Tony said, excited.

"Huh?" I asked, not able to even form a word.

"Okay," Tony said, "We are going to create a ruse. I bought you a house… under your name, in a small town in New Mexico. You'll be flying into Albuquerque, and a Taxi will take you from there to your 'new home'. Set it up, 'get settled' introduce yourself to the neighbors, let people in the town see you. Set up your 'new life' then, when you're 'studying and want peace and quiet' you can Zap back here and no one will know."

I opened my mouth, to point out the flaws in his plan, not to mention to tell him to stop referring to my lighting-teleporting as 'Zapping' when he continued, "Just listen. By tomorrow, this room will be sound proof, bug proof, even Jarvis proof." I was shocked that he was locking his AI out. "It will also have secret access to the outdoors so you can Zap in and out anytime. The town is extremely small, and mostly only a retirement community, besides a small research station. It is right in the middle of the desert, so there's enough space for you to practice your Zapping without frying anything.

"I also borrowed your Laptop," Tony admitted a bit sheepishly, "and while your cover was good, I proofed it. Everything is solid, now, we just have to make a life to match it up."

I had to admit, it was a pretty good plan, I had no idea if we could pull it off though.

"What's my cover on leaving?" I asked, wondering if Tony had covered that.

"Well, 'Officially', you decided your education was more important. 'Unofficially', you couldn't deal with me, Pepper was hounding you about Afghanistan, and you just wanted to forget the whole thing happened."

I had to admit, that was pretty solid. Many PA's had quit over the years because of Tony. But none of them had gotten kidnapped; lucky birds.

"Alright, say I go along with this. What happens if I'm here and someone shows up there… say SHIELD?" I asked, wondering if he had thought of that.

"Well, personally, I was wondering if you could modify your Zapping so it could travel as an electrical current through the landlines. But until we figure that out, there's a skylight in the house. Just keep it open. Oh, and set a few alarms on your walkway or doorbell, or drive way so you always know when someone is coming."

Tony responded to my question with a flourish of his hand.

"But won't someone notice a bolt of lightning striking the house?" I asked, my voice lased with sarcasm.

"Just turn invisible before you Zap, in theory, it should turn the lightning invisible too." Tony replied.

"We can work more of the little details out soon. Happy is going to drive you to the airport. Your flight leaves at eleven thirty, so you better get moving." Tony said, before a frown fell across his face.

He froze for a minute before wrapping me in a hug, "Don't worry. Everything will work out. We're Starks, and Starks can do and handle, anything."

* * *

**(I was going to cut it off here but thought that it would be mean.)**

I slowly slid into the car, about a half an hour later. I had a mask up, and I hadn't spoken to anyone since we left my secret room. Tony had also put on a mask, but had not come up to 'bid me farewell,' like Pepper thought he would.

Pepper gave me a simple, "have a nice flight." before leaving herself.

I shut the door slowly, this all seemed so surreal. Even if this was all another façade, it was quiet realistic.

"This might just work." I muttered quietly to myself, as Happy finished loading my bag and climbed into the driver's seat.

As we slowly pulled out of the Driveway, I briefly heard Jarvis say, "Farewell, Miss Penny."

"You know, Miss Telnets." Happy said sadly, as we got onto the road. "I'm mighty sad to see you go."

'So am I Happy, So am I.' I thought to myself. 'This is my home.' I sighed, 'and for a time, I didn't have to pretend.'

* * *

**I know that this is a sad spot to leave it on, but hey, at least I'm not leaving you hanging for too long. This chapter was hard to write, and I feel that it is lacking, but oh well. Hope some of you got the plan. And you got a bit of Tony's view. Thanks to everyone, and I hope you all understood at least the basis of what just happened.  
Thanks Expecto Prongs.  
Cp**


	25. Travels, Fury, & Death(unbeta'd)

The Unknown Variable

**I own nothing, if you think I do then I have no restraint on sic'ing the Immortals on you. They are not as pleasent as they seem… **

* * *

Still two days before

_I shut the door slowly, this all seemed so surreal. Even if this was all another façade, it was quiet realistic. _

"_This might just work." I muttered quietly to myself, as Happy finished loading my bag and climbed into the driver's seat._

_As we slowly pulled out of the Driveway, I briefly heard Jarvis say, "Farewell, Miss Penny." _

"_You know, Miss Telnets." Happy said sadly, as we got onto the road. "I'm mighty sad to see you go."_

'_So am I Happy, So am I.' I thought to myself. 'This is my home.' I sighed, 'and for a time, I didn't have to pretend._

* * *

I sighed slowly as I got out of the taxi. It had been a long trip, and I was still not in a good mood. The flight hadn't been that long, thankfully; and while the seat had been in coach, I was able to work, for about a half'n hour, on my physics dissertation. Then, I got bored.

I was thankful when the plane landed, finding my luggage was easy, not a lot of people had been on the flight, finding the prepaid Taxi was a bit harder.

Finding the Taxi itself was easy, the driver was standing beside his car holding a large cardboard sign that said 'Telnets'. It was the security that annoyed me.

It was the first time I had been on an airplane; let's just say that my Arc set off the metal detectors. Once I was alone with the two security guards, I quickly altered their memories with orders to report it was just a chest implant. It was.

Then, when I finally tried to leave the airport in Albuquerque, some over baring guard didn't want to let me leave with the taxi man because I was a 'minor'. That took another twenty minutes to work out.

Man, I was never flying on one of those things again.

The Taxi ride had been long, about two and a half hours. The driver didn't talk much, thankfully, and I just worked on schematics for my Electrical Engineering. Tony had asked me, right before I left, why I had never taken a Computer Science class, considering I would be able to pass very easily. I told him that those who got very high in the collage course was monitored heavily by multiple agencies. I didn't want to be under the microscope.

When we finally got to the small town, population 2,000, I quickly tried to memorize my surroundings.

My new house, which was a good sized town-house, was located on the outskirts of town. But it was also close enough not to be abnormally far.

The taxi driver pulled my suitcases out of the trunk and brought them to the door for me. He then tipped his hat, told me to have a nice day, and drove away.

I sighed as I walked up the small dirt path to the town house. There was so much dirt everywhere, it was strange. Everything was brown, tan, and a bit of orange. The house itself was only one story, and was painted a dark tan. The roof was dark brown tiles and every window had shutters the same color of the roof. It wasn't nearly as nice as Tony's house, but as a cover, it would work.

After finding the keys under the doormat, right where Tony said they were, I entered the house. It wasn't furnished, the furniture wouldn't arrive until later today at the earliest, but it was clean.

The front door opened right up into the living room, where a small door led to the kitchen and laundry room. There was a small hall that ran off to the side that led to the bedroom, and the spare that I would make my office. The large skylight, just as Tony said, was in the room I was going to make my office. There was a nice road bike in the small garage, and I was glad the water, electricity, and AC were already working.

After dumping my bags in my new room, I quickly wrote a note and stuck it to the front door, just in case the furniture turned up while I was at the store.

With a sigh, I pulled the bike out of the garage, and started off in the direction I saw a Safeway. I was still in a depressed mood.

Not for the first time, my mind went back to my entity friend. I hadn't seen him in a while, and could really use his company.

"Where one earth is Death?" I asked myself.

* * *

Helicarrier

"What is the information on the Telnets girl?" Nick Fury, Director of SHIELD yelled as he entered the bridge.

"Sir, it seems that Miss Telnets is no longer under Stark's employment." Agent Hill said, approaching her boss and long term ally.

"What? Stark seemed very fond of her, why would he dismiss her now?" Fury asked his senior agent.

"Well, it seems the official story being told to whomever is interested that she felt that working for Stark was interfering with her schooling, and left to focus solely on her studies." Agent Hill said.

"What's the real reason?" Fury asked, flipping through the paperwork that SHIELD had finally gathered on Piper Telnets.

"Our sources say that Miss Telnets could no longer put up with Stark, being around him made her extremely paranoid. Not surprising considering she got kidnapped for three months because of the billionaire. It was also stated that Miss Potts, Stark's original PA was pushing Telnets about information regarding Afghanistan. She is determined to just forget the whole thing ever happened."

"Where is she now?" Fury asked, as he flipped through her file thinking about everything they knew about her.

'Born in Austen, Texas. Homeschool her whole life, the few tests taken show extremely high IQ level. Mother, Gracey Telnets, died of cancer about two years ago, father unknown. No other living family. A bank account from her grandfather let her get emancipated. When account went dry because of school funds, she approached Tony Stark for a job. Got three Masters, two from MIT another from Sedona University, at the age of thirteen. Received her Metaphysics Doctorate from the Sedona University at age fourteen. Stark accepted her as another PA at age fifteen. She is going for two more doctorates before she is sixteen.'

"It seems that Stark bought her a house, in a small town in New Mexico. He also arranged for a flight and taxi ride. She left Stark's mansion at 1030, and arrived in New Mexico around 1300 hours. The house is completely paid for and under her name. It is relatively small, and currently unfurnished. After pulling some strings, we got her school records from MIT online. She has almost completed her education. Just her final Dissertations remain." Hill informed her boss,

Fury remained silent, seeing her boss wasn't going to request any more information. "This morning our surveillance team on Stark discovered something interesting."

"Oh?" Fury said, looking back up at hill, his eye-patch reflecting the artificial light.

"Our bugs picked up an argument between Potts and Telnets." Hill spoke, but Fury interrupted her before she could continue.

"No surprising, our bugs have picked up multiple fights between Stark, Pots, and Telnets recently. Most of them centering on Telnets." Fury said, dismissing her statement.

"Yes," Agent Hill agreed, "But this one was different. Many things were learned in this argument. It appears that Telnets' was tortured in captivity of the Ten Rings,"

Fury interrupted again, "Again, not surprising, they were with terrorists for months. I would be surprised if she wasn't. Personally, I was surprised she wasn't raped."

"What surprised us is that she had many burns covering her arms and upper chest, but we have no records of them. We didn't know about them." Hill said, passing Fury screen shots of the video that was taken in Stark's kitchen. They were enlarged so the many circler burns on Telnets arms were clearly shown.

"How did we miss these? We had all physical reports from the doctor at the base!" Fury said, ready to yell at the poor agent who pulled the record.

"It would seem," Agent Hill replied, "that even the base doctor knew nothing about them."

"How?" Fury asked, interrupting once again.

"It seems that Telnets is a low level Mutant." Hill told her boss, while showing him a copy of the video.

Fury watched as one moment, Telnets' arms were fine, and the next they were covered in scars.

"Does Stark know?" Furry asked, "Is it physical manipulation or some form of invisibility?"

"It appears to be a weak invisibility shield. We have not been able to fully assess her abilities but they appear to be very weak. Yes, it does appear the Stark knew about her ability. It was most likely discovered while they were with the Ten Rings, for we have no previous records of Telnets having abilities." Hill said.

Ever since the rise in Mutants and supernatural powers, SHIELD had been monitoring the larger population closely; keeping a watchful eye out for any Mutants; just in case one of them became bent on world domination. Like Magneto, thankfully, the X-man usually took care of him.

"I want her interviewed. Have Coulson do it, they are already introduced and I don't want her startled. She could be a great asset or recruit when she's older. I also want low level surveillance on her; just in case whoever set up the kidnapping goes after her. Also, keep an eye out for any more X-gene manifestations. If necessary, we'll slip the information over to Xavier." Fury said, giving the paper work back to Hill.

Telnets might be less important than Stark in the long run, but SHIELD was paranoid. They would watch her at a distance, just in case. Who knew, perhaps she would work for him one day.

* * *

**(this will make no sense if you didn't reread chpt 1)**

Mortem growled, and stormed into Infinitas' Palace. Every Immortal had a palace, or manor, in the Ribbon. The Ribbon was the flipside that connected all dimensions, all worlds, and every universe together.

Fati had been getting in his way again. She had been furious when he, along with Vitam and Infinitas discovered a loophole in the 'no interfering' rule.

Because Mortem and Aequivalere were bonded, Mortem was allowed to be around his Mate and protect her if she was danger, if she is unable to do it herself.

Father had also spoken to Infinitas concerning Aequivalere, and she had summoned Mortem to relay the news. Father usually only spoke to the Elders, but mostly conversed with Infinitas.

Mortem stormed through the front hall, his long trench coat flapping behind him. The hall was large, light blue, and the best way to describe it was moving.

Nothing ever remained the same in Infinitas' Palace. Just like nothing ever stayed the same in her Realm.

"Mortem, prompt as usual." Infinitas said, appearing by his side.

"What did Father say about Aequivalere?" Mortem said, as soon as he saw the Elder Immortal.

Infinitas sighed, "Come, we have much to discuss."

Mortem followed her down the moving hall into a small room that shifted into a small tea room. Infinitas sat down in one chair, and Mortem took the seat across from her.

"Father didn't come to me." Infinitas admitted, looking at the slightly younger Immortal.

Mortem looked confused before his eyes widened, "You Saw something, didn't you."

"Aye," Infinitas said, sighing, "I did. It concerned Aequivalere,"

Mortem opened his mouth to ask what she saw when she said, "I am not allowed to share the vision."

Mortem sighed, but relented. If Infinitas said she couldn't share, then she could not. "I brought the information I gained to Father. We discussed what was Seen, and he changed the rules."

Mortem's eyebrows rose and he leaned forward, Father _never_ changed the rules. "What? What was changed?"

Infinitas sighed, and for a moment, she looked tired beyond her physical form. "Mortem, Aequivalere is going to need you in the coming time. You will need to be by her side, or not only will neither of you survive… but none of Existence will either."

Mortem's eyes widened. He was allowed to be with Aequivalere, without having to skate around Fati. But at what cost?

"But what about…" Mortem started to ask.

"This is beyond Fati's Realm. This concerns the Father's. This is his word, and it shall be followed." Infinitas stated her voice cold. Fati wasn't on good terms with any Immortal…except with Chaos. They got along a little _too_ well.

"The only thing," Infinitas spoke, as Mortem stood up to leave, "that you must not do, besides interfere or try to rush her Awakening. Is this, do not tell her who she is, but, don't let her fail."

Mortem nodded, signifying that he understood; and walked out of Infinitas' home.

"Good luck, Mortem. Aequivalere is more important than even _I_ could have imagined. You cannot fail. After all, nothing can exist without Balance."

* * *

**I had fun with this chapter, both Death, and Fury in one go! Hehe, hope you all enjoyed it. Thanks to Expecto Prongs for everything.**

**Cp**


	26. Overpotective Fathers(unbeta'd)

The Unknown Variable

**I own nothing; I cannot afford a lawyer, so go sue someone else.**

* * *

Penny POV

I sighed as I was finally able to lay down. It was about eleven pm and I was _tired_. After I had gone to Safeway and shopped, I ran into my neighbor, Mrs. Hyln who was a single mother of three boys; Greg who was ten, Ben, who was eight, and Johny, who was four.

When Mrs. Hyln found out that I was living alone, she invited me to dinner… which I couldn't refuse. Then, the furniture showed up half way through the meal.

Mrs. Hyln called some friends from around town, and they all helped me move in. I met, Mr. Gent, who was the town mechanic, the Sheriff, Ms. Jollin, about half of the town's small police force, along with the town librarian, and some scientists from the research facility there.

The scientists were very interested to learn that not only was I already in collage, but that I was studying Physics. Apparently they studied something along the lines of astrophysics, and quantum-physics, and they offered me a job when I graduated.

The lead doctor and his assistant almost fainted when I told them I already had a PhD in Metaphysics. It was funny. It was even funnier when the young intern that tagged along recognized me as Tony Stark's latest PA.

Someone listening in really did faint. Thankfully I was able to keep the older girl quiet, so the half the town that was in my house didn't find out.

After that they said I was now their consultant. They didn't even let me say no, mean people.

People started leaving around eight, but I couldn't get the researchers to leave until ten forty-five. While they had some interesting theories and views, and held great debates, they didn't know when to give a girl a break.

I didn't even bother changing, as I fall on top of my new bed. My other neighbor, Old Mr. Yin brought me dark blue sheets as a house warming gift. He was nice…

I yawned widely, but sat back up. Now that the house was finally empty, I could get to work.

Pulling various pecies of equipment from a suitcase, I turned invisable and started setting the alarms. There was one for when someone entered the driveway, neared any door or window, and also one that monitored the garden and air vents. Just in case.

By one, all of the alarms were set and working, and programmed to a bracelet the Tony made for me. It worked as part of the alarms, a privet communicator to Tony, and a panic button. Just in case.

Jarvis was also connected to the bracelet that monitored my Core, health, and about a dozen other things.

I had literally stared at my dad in horror when he explained just what the tiny strip of metal could do. He was taking this father thing _way_ too seriously.

"Stupid over protective fathers." I muttered under my breath.

I was glad that I had managed to convince everyone to show up, that I wasn't the most social person, and had moved here so I could work on my dissertations in peace. After about an hour getting that point across, I was promised a few months of peace.

"Better than nothing." I thought aloud, it could have gone worse.

I got along well enough with everyone. It was literally the most social I had ever been in my life; period.

Finally, after I set up all of the alarms, scanned for bugs (who knew if SHIELD had managed to get in the house) and after finding one in the kitchen, and another in the living room, I left them. Determined to just not do anything important or connected with Tony or my powers in those rooms.

As the clock hanging in the hall struck two, I finally passed out on my bed. It had been one hell of a long day.

* * *

Present day

I tapped my fingers on the desk in Tony's lab. Okay, perhaps everything was _so _bad, but it was definitely more complicated.

I made sure to be seen on the bug in the kitchen every morning, grabbing something to eat, then retreated to my office where, after turning invisible, I Zapped (how I hated calling it that…curse Tony) to the mansion. The day after everything happened, so yesterday, I took my bike out, made sure I wasn't bugged, and headed out into the desert.

Once I was far enough out of town I wasn't worried about anyone finding me, I practiced my Zapping while invisible. Tony was right, it was a bit hard, but manageable. The only problem I ran into was that, every time I Zapped, it still sounded like thunder. But after three hours of Zapping around various places, was that the more I Zapped, the quieter the sound… if I wanted it to be quiet.

So, after 'going to bed' last night I Zapped back here. Tony was waitig for me, and gave me a big hug. So did the Bots, apparently I was now like…there big sister or something. Anyway, they all liked me almost as much as Tony.

Tony showed me the room, which was now hidden, sound proof, (I could hear what was going on in the lab but they couldn't hear me) and fully furnished. I had a full sized bed, with dark purple sheets and a grey comforter with matching pillows. My Tablet sat on a new desk, as my Laptop was at my new house. There was a full stereo system, wardrobe, two book shelves, three different plush throw rugs, and a beanbag chair.

I had left all of my favorite clothes here, so the wardrobe was full, and I had my own bathroom…which I didn't thing was down here.

Tony had also installed an alarm that alerted Jarvis, (who would tell us) if anyone was coming down stairs, that way I could turn invisible, along with anything I was working one, and no one would know.

The whole thing was complicated, and we had to be very careful, but it was better than nothing. In the last forty-eight hours I had become a lot more efficient with my Zapping. I had to flash back and forth at least three times a day; I expected to be a pro.

Tony had made a small shaft through the ceiling, and had a long metal pole that stuck out of the shaft. The thin pole went from my room, all the way outside. Apparently, it attracted my sparks, so when I focused on the Malibu house, I could go there.

I had to remind Tony that if the pole attracted my lightning, it would attract normal lighting; and we defiantly didn't need a thunderstorm to fry the whole house.

After that small little conversation, Tony made the pole retractable.

Tony and I were working on the physical flight stabilizer for the suit. I was screwing in a few wires that Tony couldn't reach, considering it was currently on his right arm.

"Sir, Pepper is coming down." Jarvis informed us.

"Alright." Tony said, as I dropped the screwdriver and vanished from sight.

Tony closed the stabilizer over his arm and secured it as Pepper walked down the stairs. Tony looked over, at Pepper as she typed in the code for the door. Tony wanted to keep all information about the suit from Pepper, but sadly it was a little late to hide the flight stabilizer.

"I could turn it invisible if you'd like." I whispered in his ear.

"It's alright." Tony sighed, shooting Pepper a fearful look; and it was in that moment I saw just how tired he was.

I knew that when I was there, he wasn't getting much sleep. But now that I was gone a lot of the time, I didn't even want to ask.

"Up two. Alright, set that." Tony said to Dummy ask Pepper walked over. She was balancing a box, on papers, with a coffee cup on top.

'She has two hands.' I thought to myself.

"I've been buzzing you. Did you hear the intercom?" Pepper asked, looking at Tony in confusion. Trying to figure out what was on his arm.

We had heard it, in fact. Tony just hadn't wanted to answer.

"Yeah, everything's…what?" Tony said thinking she would ask something else, and not paying attention.

I stifled a giggle, as I made sure not to bump anything.

"Obadiah is upstairs." Pepper said, as she set down the box, cup, and papers.

"Great," Tony said, distracted as he carefully lifted up the stabilizer. "I'll be right up."

"What would you like me to tell him?" She asked at the same time Tony spoke.

"Okay," he said, as he managed to get the stabilizer out of the cradle on the table. Tony stood up as Pepper paid more attention.

"I thought you said you were done making weapons." Pepper stated, staring at my father's arm. Tony shifted his stance around, aiming at something. But I wasn't sure what.

"It is." Tony replied, dropping his left arm and trying to concentrate. I had to stifle another giggle, at the look on Tony's face. He was trying to get a good stance, so he wouldn't go flying backwards again.

"This is a flight stabilizer. It's completely harmless." Tony said, as he reached over and hit the large button that turned it on.

There was a loud loading noise before, with a large blast it came to life. The blast itself was short but extremely bright and big; causing paper to fly, Pepper to cover her ears, and Tony to be blasted back against the wall…again.

"I didn't expect that." Tony said a bit shocked.

* * *

Pepper went back upstairs after Tony got back on his feet. After helping Tony get the stabilizer off, the alarms for my driveway went off. So I gave Tony a quick hug, and as he walked upstairs to go see Stane; I Zapped back to New Mexico.

* * *

I had just landed in my office when the doorbell rang. Making sure I was a bit presentable, I quickly walked down the hall and opened the door.

My eyes widened a bit when I saw Agent Coulson there, along with two other agents that I didn't recognize.

"Good evening Miss Telnets, may we come in? There are a few things we would like to discuss with you."

For once I was glad I my brain worked at the speed it did, for although my mouth said, "Of-Course."

My brain said, 'Awe crap.'

* * *

**I know, I was mean to cut it off there. But hey, it was a good sized chapter. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and I didn't confuse too many of you.**

**Thanks to all of you and to Expecto Prongs for Beta'ing.  
Cp**


	27. My IQ Score(unbeta'd)

The Unknown Variable

**I own nothing. The **_**Wonderful**_** world of Disney and JK Rowling own it all.**

* * *

I tried to control my breathing as I led the three SHIELD agents into the house.

"So," I said, breaking the silence as we all took a seat in the living room. "What does SHIELD want with me today?"

Coulson and the other two agents looked at each other for a moment before Coulson asked, "SHIELD?"

I blushed, realizing that I called them by my nickname for the agency. "Well, ever since you introduced yourself to me and Miss Potts," I said, a bit of bitterness creeping into my tone at the mention of Pepper. "I've been thinking of your organization as SHIELD. It is what all of the first letters of the words spell, it's much easier to remember, and a better name then the Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Division."

Coulson sat in silence, his eyes wide. "You know, Miss Telnets. People have been trying to change our name for years."

Another agent butted in and added, "I can't believe that a teenager, who only heard the name once, saw something no one else had for decades."

Coulson gave the younger agent a disapproving look and continued, "Yes, it is impressive. I shall pass on the name to our director. Now, back to the reason we're here."

I tried to shove the panic that was building in the back of my mind down. If they had found out my identity, or anything else, I doubt I would still be sitting here.

I pulled up my mask, hoping that none of the agents saw my panic as Coulson continued.

"Now, we have been keeping an eye on Mr. Stark since what happened in Afghanistan. Therefore, we have also been keeping an eye on you. Now, let me assure you, you've done nothing wrong and aren't in trouble. Us watching you is for just as much as your safety as ours."

My eyebrows knitted together, trying to see if they had an alternative motive to coming here. Coulson took the look as confusion and continued.

"Now, Miss Telnets; we understand why you would be confused. Because the Jericho presentation was such a secret, we believe that someone high up in Stark Industries ratted you out, so to speak, to the Ten Rings."

I nodded along to what Coulson said; it was nothing that I didn't already suspect.

I opened my mouth to tell them how Tony and I already suspected that, until my rational side of my brain convinced me to say something else.

"So your worried, that because Mr. Stark and I escaped, that whomever gave us… or really Stark, I was just dragged along," I added bitterness to my voice, hoping to keep my appearance as close to the cover story as possible. "might come after us again because we didn't die or something?"

Coulson nodded, while the other two, obviously less trained agents looked surprised about how well I was taking this,

"That is correct." Coulson added, and I hoped that it was all he wanted to talk about. "Now, because there is a safety concern, we will be monitoring you, and if anything happens, I want you to call us. There are agents in Albuquerque that will respond immediately in case something happens."

I nodded again, as Coulson handed me the card. I shook my head; the name was capitalized, so if you just glanced at it, it spelled SHIELD.

How on earth had no one figured it out before?

"There are two other things that we would like to speak to you about." Coulson continued as I put the card in my pocket.

I nodded again, not really sure what to say. I was glad that Coulson was doing all of the talking.

"Now, we have received some resent information that we need to talk to you about. We know you are a Mutant."

My eyes widened and I opened my mouth to deign it. 'How the hell did they find out… Tony's kitchen must be bugged!'

I started to panic, and Coulson must have been able to tell because he said, "You aren't in trouble, Miss Telnets. In fact, we don't really care."

'Okay,' I thought to myself, 'that has to be a lie.'

"We just wanted to get a…evaluation of your powers; for future reference." Coulson said, hoping to defuse a situation before it happened. "We know that you can create a weak invisible shield around your body. We're just asking, if you can do anything else."

I almost rolled my eyes at the whole, 'future reference' thing. That was a bunch of bull.

'Hmm, if they only know about my invisibility, and think its weak, there's no reason to let them thing otherwise.'

"Um…well…" I stammered, trying to appear nervous. I rubbed the back of my neck for good measure, wondering if… of course they would be trained to read body language.

"You aren't in trouble here Ms. Telnets. Just tell us the truth." The third agent, who had yet to speak, said.

I took a deep breath and said, "Wh…when we were in…" I paused, swallowed pretending that I didn't want to say Afghanistan. The agents nodded that they understood and I continued, carefully.

"I...I found out that…if I tried really hard… I could make parts of…my body…disappear."

Coulson nodded as the other two agents shared a look. I hoped they bought it. Technically, I did discover my invisibility when we were with the Ten Rings.

"Can you make other things disappear? Or your whole body?" The second agent asked me.

"Well… I can make my whole body disappear if I really try, but it's really tiring, and sometimes smaller objects like screws or erasers but otherwise… I can't really do much with it." I shrugged majorly downplaying my abilities.

"We would also like to take a look at your scars." The third agent said, his voice hard.

Pretending to be shocked, an angry. I narrowed my eyes, "How do you know…" I paused for moment before rolling my eyes and adding as if I just thought of it, "You bugged Tony's Kitchen, didn't you?"

The second agent's eyes narrowed and said, "How did you know that!"

Coulson and the other agents motioned for him to be silent, but before Coulson could do damage control I said, "Please, have you seen my IQ score? There has only been two places that both my invisibility and scars were shown together: Tony's kitchen a few days ago, and …that cave. It wasn't that hard to figure out. Unless of-course you work for the Ten Rings, I went with option one."

We sat in silnce for a moment, while Coulson glared at the second agent, before he turned to me and said, "Will you let us examine the scars?"

"Why?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

Coulson held up his hands, trying to calm me and said, "Just to make sure they aren't an endangerment to your health."

"And because you didn't know about them." I added, none of the agents tried to deign it. I sighed and stood up.

"Fine, just let me put a tank-top on first." I said, before leaving the room.

* * *

I was back not even five minutes later. I had to put on the cover for my Core. I was taking no chances. There was no way in hell that I was allowing them to discover that.

I sat back down on the couch with Coulson on my right, and the third agent on my left. My invisibility was still up. They knew about it, and they knew I used it to hide them, so why wouldn't I?

"Would you drop the invisibility please, Ms. Telnets." Coulson asked.

I huffed, but allowed the invisibility to drop, at least. That's what they thought. I actually just pulled it all to my core, so it had another layer of protection.

Coulson's eyes widened as the numerous scars appeared on my arms and upper chest. The third agent was quick, picking and peering at a number of scars. If you looked close enough, you could tell which ones were cigarette, and which ones where the poker.

"They don't, eh hem, go any lower do they?" Coulson asked.

"No, you can see all of the ones that are there." I replied, glancing at the third agent. He was starting to creep me out a bit.

"There seems to be two types…but they've healed so well I can't tell what they are." The third agent finally stated.

I replied instantly, surprised that he said the scars healed well. I still thought they were ugly as hell.

"These," I said, pointing to the various round scars that had a slight twist in the middle, "are cigarette burns."

"And these," I said, pointing to the other scars that resembled slight bulls-eye, "were from a very hot fire poker."

All three agents looked at me with wide eyes, "You remember which onces are which?" Coulson finally asked.

"Ah…yeah?" I half stated half asked.

All three agents looked stunned.

"Is that a problem?" I asked, my eyebrows knitting together.

Coulson quickly shook his head, "No, but it is remarkable. I've seen agents who've taken less burns then you in torture, and couldn't recall most of it."

I shrugged, I was never normal; and I have a large pain tolerance. The high IQ also helps with remembering this.

"A high IQ and high pain tolerance mixture can result in curious things; Agent Coulson." I stated vaguely.

All three agents were still frozen in shock, "Now, is there anything else? I have some studying I would like to finish today." I asked, pulling my invisibility back up and rising.

Coulson was the first one to snap out of his stupor and said, "No that will be all Ms. Telnets."

The two other agents were out the door quickly, and as I walked Coulson to the door I figured that out of all the secret agents I had met, he was the best.

As he reached the end of my walk way I called, "Agent Coulson."

He turned and said, "Yes Ms. Telnets?"

I smiled and said, "Call me Penny."

A brief smile appeared on the agents face before he replied with a nod, "Phil, good evening Miss Penny."

* * *

**Just so you know, that is not the Avenger Penny is going to meet soon. I've always like Phil. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter.**

**Thanks for beta'ing Expecto Prongs,  
and thanks to all of you wonderful people.  
Cp**


	28. Stupid Thunderstorm(unbeta'd)

The Unknown Variable

**Disney/Marvel owns everything from that universe, and Jk owns her own. I own my own universe, but most of you have yet to see it.**

* * *

"Day 11, test 37, configuration 2.0. For lack of a better option, Dummy is still on fire safety. If you douse me again, and I'm not on fire, I'm donating you to a city college." Tony said, he stood in the middle of the test mat once again.

He had both the boots and stabilizers on, both where connected to his Reactor, a strap when across one shoulder and under the other arm, connecting and protecting the wires. Tony looked exhausted.

In the past few weeks Tony and I fell back into a routine. I would ether sleep in Malibu or New Mexico, but either way, I made sure I was seen every morning by the camera's, and when Tony was otherwise occupied I went back to my house and worked on my dissertations in front of the living room camera. I was also careful to let random people in town see me every other day or so.

I spent most of my time in Malibu, ether helping Tony with the boots and stabilizers, or tinkering with the project I came up with for my Electric Engineering dissertation.

I was making small projector's that could be placed in strategic places to create fully colored realistic holograms.

Not only would the small Holo-balls (as I called them) be able to give me a bit more freedom with the bugs in the house, but they also would be a step forward in Hologram technology.

I actually got the idea when Tony was remolding the flight stabilizers on the hologram table, while Jarvis talked. More specifically, the AI and the Holograms gave me the idea.

Tony had made me more little Palladium balls, that way I could fry people, or things, without the whole… 'There's a bolt of lightning' thing. They were also easier to control and use.

Tony had made a six foot bulls-eye for me to practice my aim on. It was fun.

"All right, nice and easy." Tony said, looking right into the camera. I was standing behind U, who was on camera duty again; we decided that just in case someone got a hold of the footage, it would be best if I wasn't in it.

I shot Tony a grin, stifling giggles, and gave him a thumbs up. He gave me a small smile in return. Seriously, Tony going nice and easy? Not likely.

Sadly, since I had moved to New Mexico, our bonding time had gone down. We still got along, and stuff but… I don't know. It seemed as if Tony was being more distance.

On the other hand, Death finally showed back up. He now showed up any time I was alone. I had ordered a sign language handbook on the computer, and had it ordered to my house. I was slowly learning the language; and so was Death. We could finally have a two way conversation that didn't rely on facial expressions and hand jesters.

Tony must have sensed my lack of belief because he said, "Seriously, just gonna start off with 1% thrust capacity."

Huh, he was being serious. 'Good job Dad,' I thought a small smile on my face.

Tony took a deep breath, his knees were bent slightly, and his feet were spread apart. Tony had his arms slightly out to the sides, like when someone is trying to keep their balance.

"And three, two, one." Tony said, and the repulsors flared to life. Thankfully, while tony was thrown unstably into the air, the blast was nowhere near as bad as the previous ones and he quickly stabilized a few feet off the ground.

Tony floated around on the map, getting the hang of it for a minute before putting the power and landing on the ground. He stumbled a bit, but otherwise it was a much better outcome then the previous ones.

"Okay," He said, shooting me a smile before turning back to his task at hand. He looked over to Dummy, who was following him intently with the extinguisher. "Please don't follow me around with it, either, 'cause I feel like I'm gonna catch on fire spontaneously."

Tony scolded the robot, who hung his arm sadly. "Just stand down! If something happens, then come in."

Tony walked back over to the middle of the mad and said, "And again, let's bring it up to 2.5."

"Three, two, one."

This time, Tony was a bit more stable in the air, and much more mobile. He had quickly flown away from the mat, and across his lad. Turning so he didn't hit the wall, Tony ended up flying over his cars.

"Okay, this is where I don't want to me!" he cried out, in light panic.

He flew over the first car, a white one and cried, "Not the car, not the car!" Tony flew over every single one of his cars, roughing up the paint jobs and possibly denting them.

"Table!" Tony stated fearfully as he hovered over his desk, sending papers flying everywhere. Finally getting sick of ruining his lab, Tony put his arms out in front of him causing him to fly in reverse.

He managed to get back over the testing pad as he reassured the Bots…and me, "Could be worse! Could be worse! We're fine! Okay."

Tony said, as he straightened his arms and legs, causing him to remain in place for a moment before he cut the power.

He stumbled once again on the landing, and looked a little green, but was otherwise alright.

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

Tony looked over at Dummy who was raising the extinguisher, and we both cried, "No!"

Causing the bot to hang his arm in a very pout like state. I found it completely adorable.

"Yeah," Tony said, a small smile on his face, "I can fly."

* * *

"Just make sure you're here by seven, alright?" Tony said, I was about to Zap back. Someone had dropped a letter off, after the mailman came, and I was curious.

"I'll be here Dad. I probably won't even be gone an hour." I told him, and tried to hold back a blush. I had been slipping more and more recently. I called him down more than I called him Tony.

Tony noticed my blush and put both of his hands on my shoulders, "Hey," He said, causing me to look at him. "You can call me Dad…if you want." Tony told me awkwardly.

A smile appeared on my face and I threw my arms around him. He pat me on the head and I could feel the tension in the air.

"Thanks…Dad." I said, a shy smile on my face, as I pulled back.

A half grin appeared on his face as he said, "Well, it'll defiantly take some getting used to…but I like it."

I grinned once again as I opened the secret door, "Just remember…" Tony shouted.

"Seven, I know!" I called back as I charged up my sparks. At seven the Mark Two armor would be done, I wouldn't miss it for the world.

My sparks danced around me as I touched the metal pole, and shot off across the sky.

* * *

I landed in my office just fine, an after a moment of checking on some programs I had running through SHIELD, it wasn't anything important. I was just keeping an eye out on anything that could concern myself or Tony. I walked out to my mailbox, waved to my neighbor who was watering her small garden and reentered the house.

'Really? Who tries to have a garden in the middle of a desert?' I wondered.

The random letter was actually an invitation to 'accompany' the local scientists when they presented their most resent finds to a group of investors.

But it wasn't for another six months.

'Why send this now?' I wondered as I refolded the letter and placed it on the kitchen counter. I grabbed a glass of water before heading back to my office.

It was six thirty; I didn't want to be late.

As I charged up the sparks underneath my skylight, I saw clouds gathering. Not wanting my laptop to get wet, I set an automatic timer to close the skylight after I left.

Soon, I shot into the sky. Zapping was a strange experience. It felt as if every part of my body was getting electrocuted…but it didn't hurt. I couldn't really see anything, it was mostly instantaneous. At one spot one second, a half of a second experiencing something that felt like an electric high, and then someplace else the next second.

That was how I knew something was wrong. The high lasted longer, it intensified, and then, I solidified as my body could no longer control the energy.

I gasped as large grey clouds appeared around me, flashing with lighting. The sky was filled with thunder; it was so loud my head throbbed.

Wind whipped against my face, and it wasn't until I spotted the approaching tree tops that I realized that I was _falling_. Hundreds of thousands of feet, I tried to pull my electricity back to me, to Zap someplace, but the air was so heavily charged, I could concentrate enough to get a location in my mind.

I felt as if I was falling, but my sparks felt as if they were drunk. They defied me, as I tried to call to them. They had a mind of their own now.

I closed my eyes and panic flooded me as darkness crept at the edge of my vision. Suddenly, I felt Deaths cold hand on my shoulder, but before I could even register that Death was there. Something slammed into me from the side, not the bottom, the side. In the middle of the air. Not normal. My eyes opened as I felt Death's hand being pulled off of me. My eye brows knitted together as all I saw was green.

I could still tell we, whatever was holding me, were still falling. There was a loud explosion as we impacted, my head jerked back. I saw the blue sky for a moment before my vision went black.

"Never…Zappin' into a thunder storm again." I heard myself mutter as my brain turned off.

* * *

**A bit shorter than normal, but hey! Interesting ending huh? For some reason I don't feel like this chapter is up to par… could be that I'm just in the mood because my phone was taken but hey… oh well.**

**Thanks to everyone.  
Cp**


	29. Big Green Teddy Bear(unbeta'd)

The Unknown Variable

**Hey Ya'll! I own nothing, I never have and never will, at least, as far as you all know.**

* * *

My head was throbbing and the ground felt as if it was shifting beneath my back. I slowly opened my eyes, my head throbbing against the bright sunlight. A bright green canopy hung high above me, a saw a bright bird fly by.

'huh,' I thought to myself, 'I thought those only lived in the…' my thoughts froze as I registered the view around me. 'rainforest…'

I quickly sat up, which was a bad idea as my head exploded in pain. Placing my head in my hands I tried to banish the throbbing pain.

"Fire girl ok?" A deep voice asked behind me. I spun around to see a large green… thing, staring down at me.

He was about ten feet tall, and was totally buff. He wore only shredded shorts. Everything about him was green, his eyes, his hair, his skin…even the whites of his eyes were tinted green.

**(Yup, you guessed it! Hulk! ****) **

Under different circumstances I would have been terrified, but the creature was just sitting there, staring at me with his head tilted to the side like a child. It was sort of cute.

"Fire girl ok?" He asked again, his voice was also rough, like his vocal cords weren't supposed be speaking.

"Yeah…" I answered slowly. A cold hand appeared on my shoulder and the pain disappeared.

I turned to see Death kneeling next to me, however, before I could say or sign anything, the Big Guy started growling. I looked back over at the large beast to see that it wasn't growling at _me_, it was growling at_ Death_.

"You can see him?" I asked, confused and in awe.

The green monster just glared harder at Death and his growls became deeper and more threatening.

"I don't think he likes you." I whispered to Death, as the thing clambered to his feet. "Go," I told him.

Death shot me a look say, 'are you crazy I'm not leaving you here with this thing."

"I'll be fine." I told him, and realized that I had said the same thing to Dad not too long ago.

Death gave me another worried look before disappearing.

The reaction was instant. Big Green instantly calmed down, and sat down right next to me. Looking around with a glare on his face, as if daring Death to come back.

"You know," I said, causing it to look down at me, "He was a friend."

The large green guy shook his head and said, "Hulk protect fire girl. Like Hulk protect Bruce."

"Bruce?" I repeated, something about the name Bruce…along with the large green guy seamed familiar somehow…

My eyes widened as I started at the large green monster next to me. He wasn't a monster, he was just a bad experiment gone wrong.

"Your Bruce Banner's alter ego? Aren't you." I asked. I had discovered Dr. Banner's medical history concerning Gama Radiation while I was digging through SHIELD's files.

"Hulk protects Bruce." Hulk insisted.

I almost smirked, I could do this. "I bet you do a great job." I told Hulk.

Hulk nodded, his anger seemed to be fading.

"What happened?" I asked, looking up at the sky. It was bright blue once again; the storm seemed to have moved on.

"Fire girl falling. Hulk saw, Hulk jump and save small fire girl." Hulk told me, for a moment I wondered why he kept calling me fire girl until I realized it was because of my hair.

"Thank you." I told him and Hulk look at me weirdly.

'No doubt no one's ever thanked him before.' I thought to myself.

My stomach growled and Hulk looked down at me, I tried to stand put my ankle throbbed painfully and I fell down hissing in pain.

"Fire girl hungry and hurt." Hulk stated as he stood and carefully pick me up. "Fire girl like Hulk food or Bruce food?" he asked as he started to carry through the trees.

I was shocked for a moment how such a large being could be so gentle. I snapped my attention back on what Hulk was asking.

I had no idea what Hulk would eat, so I went with the other option.

"Bruce food please," I responded, my headache slowly fading.

A few minutes later, Hulk brought me to a clearing full of bushes covered in berries.

"Are they safe to eat?" I wondered aloud as Hulk carefully set me on my feet.

"Safe," Hulk nodded. I limped over to the large plant, and begun to pick the berries. Slipping one into my mouth I grinned. They tasted like fresh blackberries. I didn't think they were, but they were definitely good.

My head cleared as I ate, and I could finally feel the energy pulsing beneath my skin. It was still a bit wilder than normal, and I decided to wait to it to calm down some more before I tried to Zap

'…ok I needed a new name for that…' I thought to myself.

I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn't notice Hulk shifting back into Bruce until he groaned, lying on the ground. The shreds of pants still intact enough to hide anything I shouldn't see.

Hurrying over to his side, as fast as I could with a hurt ankle, I knelt down next to him as he opened his eyes.

"Wha…" he muttered in confusion.

"Dr. Banner, are you ok?" I asked, my wide eyes connecting to his brown ones when he jerked back in shock.

"Who… what…" Dr. Banner said, as the bits and pieces of Hulk's memories came to him.

"You… you were falling." Bruce said, looking to me in confusion.

"Yeah," I said, sitting down besides the befuddled doctor. "The big green version of you caught me. Saved my life." I told him.

"Thanks by the way." I added with a shrug.

Now, if possible, Dr. Banner looked even more confused. "I…he didn't hurt you?"

I gave Bruce a look. I might not know much about situations like this, I wasn't sure anyone was, but stereotyping a part of you couldn't be healthy.

"Nope," I said, popping the 'p'. "Actually, you were a big softy, and very protective."

"Really?" Dr. Banner asked, his scientific personality starting to show, but thankfully, before he said anything, he noticed that he was almost naked, lying on the forest floor with a strange girl.

His face turned red, as he held the shreds of pants up, and stood up. Looking around, he sighed, "Come on. I know where we are. I'm staying not far up ahead."

I stood up, and took about three steps before Bruce noticed that I was limping.

"I thought you said you weren't hurt?" he asked, looking at me with narrowed eyes.

"No," I denied with a grin, "I told you, you didn't hurt me. I'm not sure how I hurt my ankle."

Bruce wrapped my arm around his shoulders and helped me along the forest floor.

"So, how did you end up falling out of the sky anyways? Airplanes don't usually fly over this part of the jungle." Dr. Banner asked.

I shrugged, and replied, "The storm messed up my sense of direction."

"What?" Bruce replied, as we stepped through the trees into a small clearing with a decent sized cave.

"Your living in a cave." I drawled with a sigh.

"Ah…yeah." Bruce said his face red in embarrassment.

"Eh, it's alright Dr. Banner. I understand." I said as he led me inside.

Suddenly, the doctor realized that I had been using his tittle this whole time and became suspicious.

He narrowed his eyes and said, "How do you know my name? Who are you working for!?"

I sighed, and plopped down onto the dirt floor. "I know your name because I hacked into SHIELD's files. I don't work for anyone."

"SHIELD?" Bruce asked, wondering if this was a new agency after him.

I rolled my eyes again, and after explaining what SHIELD was, I asked "So, just what are you a Doctor of? Your file didn't say."

Bruce still looked hesitant so I added, "Seriously, do you think Hulk would have let me life if I was a threat?"

That struck home for Bruce and he sighed before answering, "I have a PhD in Physics, Masters in Genetics, and have a bit of Med School under my belt."*

I nodded, "I have a Masters in Electric Engineering, Physics, and a PhD in Metaphysics."

Bruce's jaw literally dropped, and his eyes widened in surprise. "Your joking." He replied, in shock.

"Nope," I replied, popping the 'p' again.

"But… you can't even be sixteen!" The physicist said in disbelief.

"I'm fifteen." I answered, rolling my eyes.

Death appeared again, and seeing that Hulk was Bruce once again, he walked over and put his hand, which was glowing, over my ankle.

'Hah,' I thought with pride, 'I knew I was you who kept healing me.'

Bruce had an interesting reaction to Death's presence. He stiffened up, and his jaw locked. I looked at him in concern. However, when his skin started to take on a green tinge, I shooed Death away.

We didn't need Hulk coming out; the cave wasn't big enough for him.

Death gave me annoyed look, and after signing, 'We'll talk about this later' he left.

I sighed, that was one of the first signs I learned.

Bruce settled down, though was confused as to what put Hulk on edge so badly.

"It's alright." I said, "Perhaps he was just startled."

Bruce gave me a look that said he didn't believe me, but went along with it.

"Tell me the truth, how did you get here?" he asked me, "You're from the US, right?"

"Your right, don't worry you'll see how I got here when I leave." I told him. Personally, I wasn't too concerned with showing Bruce my powers. He was on the run and had issues of his own. Mine weren't going to get around. "But let's just say, I'm far from normal."

Bruce laughed, "You're talking to the wrong person about that. But I have to say, you're the only person I've met that was never scared of the Hulk."

I shrugged again; I seemed to be doing that a lot in this jungle. "He might be over protective…" I started but at Bruce's incredulous look, I continued, "Ok, really over protective, but underneath he's just a giant, green, teddy bear."

"Hulk, a teddy bear? I'll believe it when I see it." Bruce snorted in disbelief.

I rolled my eyes, "Look, I don't know what it's like having another side of yourself in your head, but instead of always fighting for control, have you ever just tried cooperating with him?"

Seeing his look I sighed again and added, "Just give it a try at some point. Who knows what the two of you could do if you worked together."

I exited the cave, and while I was calling my energy, which was now back to normal, and said in parting, "He is much more than just a monster, Dr. Banner. He is a part of you."

With that, I Flashed (yes, I came up with a new name. Zapping sounded too similar to one of those lights that zap bugs, to me) away. Leaving an awe struck, and bamboozled fugitive behind.

'I seemed to have that effect on a lot of people.' I thought to myself as I sored through the sky at high speeds. 'I have Tony doesn't kill me too badly. Eh, who's kidding,' I sighed, 'I'm dead meat.'

* * *

***I wasn't sure what Bruce's qualifications were, so I picked a few that I thought fit what I knew about him. I love Hulk and Bruce (though not the actor that plays him in Avengers…) this whole chapter turned out a bit different than planned, but hey. That's the fun in writing. (Oh, and don't worry. No doubt I'll add more of Banner in here before the Avengers show up)**

**Thanks to all of you, and Expecto Prongs for Beta'ing.  
Cp**


	30. Liquid Metal(unbeta'd)

The Unknown Variable

**Ok, next chapter. I still don't own anything. Go bother whoever convinced Disney to buy Marvel.**

* * *

Sadly, I had to head back to the house before I could get chewed out by Tony. The problem was that I had closed my skylight. So, I flashed to the roof, and remaining invisible, I opened up the skylight (I had to use my sparks to get it open) and dropped down into my office.

Becoming visible, I scanned for bugs one more time, and not finding any more than the two I already knew about, I grabbed a snack from the kitchen before heading towards the bedroom. As soon as I was out of sight from the living room camera I turned invisible and Flashed to Malibu.

As I stepped out of my hidden room, I saw Tony in the kitchenette, holding an ice pack to his head. Looking around I spotted a hole in the ceiling, pieces of wood on the floor, his blue sports car smashed, and extinguisher foam all over the car.

I also spotted Mark two, a bit scratched up, but in better condition than I thought.

"You tested it without me." I pouted, as I snuck up on Tony.

He spun around, then froze and winced in pain. "You never showed up." He said, his eyes narrowed.

"I waited for you until elven, before I tested the Mark Two. Do you have any idea what time it is?" Tony asked extremely displeased.

"Um," I said, shifting around a bit. "No, not really." And winced, this wasn't going to end well.

"It's three in the morning, Penny. You were supposed to show up eight hours ago!" Tony exclaimed. "Do you have any idea how worried I was when you never showed up? Not to mention when Jarvis told me he could no longer get a signal from your bracelet!"

"My bracelet stopped working?" I restated, confused. I took the bracelet off and flipped it over. Yep, fryed as hell.

"Must 'ave been the lightning…" I muttered as I put the bracelet back on.

"Now, where were you?" Tony asked, one hand on his hip, the other still holding the icepack to his head. The icepack was totally ruining the stern image Tony was trying to create.

I shrugged, I never asked Dr. Banner exactly where we were. "Somewhere in South America, I think."

"What?!" Tony exclaimed, look at me in shock, and horror. "How on earth did you end up there!"

I sighed, and flopped down onto the couch, "I was trying to Flash…I'm not calling it Zap anymore by the way…back and somewhere between you and me, there must have been an electrical storm. Because, it messed up my sparks, and the next thing I knew was falling out of a lightning filled cloud, over a rainforest."

Tony eyes widened, and he sat himself down next to me.

"Are you ok?" he asked, looking for any injuries. "Did you Zap…or whatever you call it, down to the ground?"

"No," I told him, and his eyes widened. "My sparks were over charged or something. The air was so full of electric discharges that I couldn't focus my own."

Tony opened his mouth, probably to ask what happened, but I just continued.

"Someone caught me. Literally. Right out of the air." I told him, and he looked confused.

"Like a Mutant?" He asked, worry in every inch of his voice.

"Sorta, but not really." I stated, and wondered if Tony knew who Dr. Banner was. "Met Dr. Banner though. Nice guy."

Tony's eyes widened to a whole new measure, and he shot up off of the couch and exclaimed, "You met Bruce Banner! The Bruce Banner who turned into a big green rage machine when angry!? Are you crazy? Are you okay?"

I stood up and tried to calm my panicking father down. "Dad, hey, calm down. Hulk caught me."

Tony looked like he was about to have a panic attack so I quickly added, "Hulk was fine, very worried. Personally I think everyone just stereotypes him because of his size. Don't piss him off, and he's a teddy bear."

"The big green machine a teddy bear? You sure about that?" Tony asked, as he tried to calm down.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Bruce didn't really believe me ether. But, hey, can't fix everything." I shrugged.

Tony finally calmed down with another large breath as he closed his eyes.

"So," Tony exclaimed, sounding like his normal cheerful self again, "What was Dr. Banner like?"

* * *

Apparently, my father had always been a fan of Dr. Banner, and his work. So when I described the small encounter with him, and his alter ego, he flipped between over protective father, to avid five year old fan.

While we were talking, Tony and I finally wondered what was in Pepper's box. Tony had taken the coffee a while ago, but the box and papers had been left untouched.

"Wonder what it is." I commented, stifling a yawn, as I stole Tony's chair.

"Well, let's find out." Tony replied, as he picked up the small rectangular box.

There was a sticky note on top that said, 'From Pepper'. I couldn't help but roll my eyes, we already knew that.

Unwrapping the brown paper, Tony got an interesting frown on his face.

"Not used to presents?" I asked, looking between the half open rectangle and my Dad.

Tony didn't reply, but he didn't have to, the slight shave of his head was all the answer I needed.

"I'm gonna fix that." I told him, he raised an eyebrow at me as he pulled out a glass box from the paper.

Inside of the glass box, elevated on a little podium, was Tony's original Arc, surrounded by a band of metal that said,

**Proof That Tony Stark Has A Heart**

Part of me frowned. Tony always had a heart. Why did Pepper feel the need to prove that?

A small half smile and put the case on his desk.

'Huh,' I thought. 'I'm never going to understand adults.'

* * *

"This is what you did for eight hours last night?" I asked Tony as he handed me some type of gantlet.

It was about a four inches of metal that would clasp on to my wrist. It was engraved with circles and lightning bolts. But I had no clue what it was for.

"Try it on." Tony replied, not bothering to answer my question. I slipped the large band on, to see that it fit perfectly and sat on my wrist like it belonged.

"So, this one another tracking device?" I asked, the band was actually pretty cool, but I was not wearing a thing this bulky just to keep Dad happy.

"No," Tony replied, shaking his head. "Flick you wrist to the right, just slightly."

Not understanding what this had to do with anything, I did as he asked. With a small right flick, I heard something softly click in the band, before a small Palladium ball rolled into my hand.

My eyes widened, this would give me a large supply of energy balls whenever needed.

"Much better than a tracking device." I stated, looking closing at the band, I realized that the circles I saw, were probably where the balls were stored, waiting to slide into my hand at a moment's notice.

"I agree." Tony said, and I looked at him in shock. He gave me a half smile but he looked tired, over worked, and worried.

'Did the nightmares come back?' I wondered. Neither of us had been able to get the nightmares to leave us alone completely, though mine had dulled a bit. But I wondered if Tony's were still going strong.

"I know you won't let me make you armor…" Tony started as I shook my head. We had discussed it many times. I didn't care how worried Tony was, I wasn't going to wear a giant suit of metal. "So, I found something I think you'd like a bit better."

I looked at my father in confusion as he dragged me towards the crate.

"What is it Dad?" I asked as he removed the top and revealed a bunch of black, and silver.

"Your own sort of protection. One that'll fit your tastes." Tony stated, "Now, you'll have to find somethings to personalize it. But, it should work well."

I started pulling out fabrics, and my eyes widened as I saw a large container filled with a silvery, metallic, liquid.

"Is this what I think it is?" I asked Tony.

"If you think it's liquid metal, then yes." Tony replied a large grin on his face. "Yes it is."

* * *

The first thing I did, after Flashing home and pretending everything was normal, was go shopping.

I went to the Wal-Mart, there was no need to buy anything fancy, and any clothes I bought were getting an upgrade anyway.

I bought a pair of black legging, a black jean mini-shirt that flared a bit, and along sleeve black shirt.

I also grabbed some plain black material out of their sewing section, and a pair of cheap black high heeled boots.

After shopping, and talking with a few neighbors, I Flashed back to Tony's.

Tony had explained his plan, and I was totally excited. This was going to be fun.

"Notes," I heard my dad tell Jarvis, "Main transducer feels sluggish at plus 40 altitudes. Hull pressurizations is problematic. I'm thinking icing is the probably factor."

"A very astute observation, sir." Jarvis replied, his voice laced with sarcasm.

"Icing?" I asked, walking over. "Oh, I got what I wanted. What froze?"

Tony looked at me, but before he could answer, Jarvis added, "Perhaps, if you intend to visit other planets, we should improve the ecosystems."

I raised my eyebrow at what Jarvis implied. If the suit flew above a altitude it could handle, then it would freeze, and possibly shut down.

"It would seem," I drawled with a smirk "that I wasn't the only one falling out of the sky last night."

Tony shook his head in amusement, and said with a shrug, "Hey, it must be a Stark thing."

"I hope it doesn't become a family tradition." I hoped, falling out of the sky would be a very bad habit.

"It won't." Tony promised, turning back to his computer screens.

"Connect to the sys. Co. have it reconfigure the shell metals. Use the gold titanium alloy from the seraphim tactical satellite. That should ensure a fuselage integrity while maintaining power-to-weight ratio." Tony told Jarvis, as he took a sip of his green shake.

I realized, that Tony practically lived off of those things, when no one convinced him to eat. I tried, but I didn't always succeed.

"You got it?" Tony asked staring at the screen.

I walked over to my desk and sat down in my chair. Dad didn't want me touching the liquid metal until he showed me what to do.

'I hope he hurries up.' I thought to myself, picking up a half-finished Holo-ball and twisting it between my fingers.

"yes," Jarvis replied as Tony stood up, drink in hand. "Shall I render using proposed specifications?"

"Thrill me," Tony replied as he made his way over to my desk.

"Now," he said pulling up another chair besides me, the black clothes, and "You're gonna have to design the rest of it. But, this is what I want you to do."

* * *

**Not the best place to cut it off, but oh well. Hope you all enjoyed it.  
thanks to everyone and especially Expecto Prongs,  
Cp**


	31. I'm The Eldest!(unbeta'd)

The Unknown Variable

**Disney bought Marvel, Jk owns the rights, have you seen my name? Nope, 'cause I own nothing.**

* * *

About an hour later, all of the clothes had been soaked in the liquid metal. The metal would then dry, hardening the clothes, but also allowing it to remain flexible and soft. I wasn't quite sure how it worked, Tony just shrugged and told me the stuff was expensive and a mixture of a variety of substances; not just metal.

The fabric was now flexible, but extremely durable. It was also bullet proof. When I asked Dad, jokingly, if he thought I was going to get shot, he just grimaced and remained silent.

Dad also explained that the fabrics were now much more workable with my sparks. It would be easier to turn invisible, and my shield would latch onto metal mixture, making it stronger and more dependable.

He told me that the rest I had to create, but if I needed help, to just ask.

I had started with the boots. They were the first thing I came up with to change. Pulling the heels and soles off, I got to work.

"Tonight's red-hot red carpet is right here at the Disney Concert Hall," my head snapped up for a moment seeing the reporter on TV. "Where Tony Stark's third annual benefit for the Firefighter's Family Fund has become the place to be for L.A.'s high society."

I turned to see Tony staring at the TV his head tilted an interested expression on his face.

"Jarvis, we get an invite for that?" Tony asked, glancing up at the ceiling for a moment.

"I have no record of an invitation, sir." Jarvis replied instantly.

"…Hasn't been seen in public since his bizarre and highly controversial press conference." The reporter said, obviously talking about Tony.

Tony picked up the face plate that he was using to improve the Mark Three that was covered in notes, and put it on.

"Some claim he's suffering from posttraumatic stress and has been bedridden for weeks. Whatever the case may be," The reporter said as Tony took off the faceplate and look at the TV, insult flashing on his face for a moment before disappearing. "no one expects an appearance from him tonight."

I shook my head, now Tony was defiantly going to go. They insulted his pride, and besides, since when was my father predictable? He loved ruining people's expectations.

"The render is complete." Jarvis said, pulling up the new design for the Mark Three. It had been done a while ago, but Tony had been working with me, so Jarvis had put it on the side burner till he was done.

"A little ostentatious, don't you think?" Tony asked, and I leaned over to get a better view of the new, gold metal.

"Eh, solid gold isn't really your thing." I commented lightly.

"What was I thinking?" Jarvis said sarcastically, "You're usually so discreet."

I snorted, that AI was awesome. Shaking my head I turned back to my work, picking up the mini welder I started reattaching the soles and heels to the boots.

"Tell you what." Tony said, and I looked back up at him in question. "Throw a little hot-rod red in there."

I chuckled quietly, now that was pure Tony.

"Yes, that should help you keep a low profile." Jarvis drawled, and a smile appeared on Tony's face. He gave Jarvis a personality for a reason, after all. "The render is complete."

I looked over at the screen, the red did turn down the boldness of the gold, and personally, I like it.

"Hey, I like it. Fabricate it. Paint it." Tony ordered.

"Commencing automated assembly." Jarvis stated back to his creator. "Estimated completion time is five hours."

"It's loud and obnoxious, just like you Dad." I commented, causing Tony to throw me a halfhearted glare.

"At least mine has more color then just black." Tony shot back.

"I'm going for discreet and stubble." I replied, defending my choice of clothing.

Tony rolled his eyes, "Sure, and your so stubble."

I stuck my tongue out at him, turning back to my work. I heard Tony chuckling and smiled. This was fun, this was normal. This is what made all of the drama and complications worth it.

Tony stood up, and after giving me a one armed hug, he jogged towards the stairs. "Don't wait up for me, honey." Tony said to Jarvis. "Jar, you're in charge. Watch the kids."

"Hey," I shouted after him, "I'm the eldest!"

"Yeah, but Jarvis didn't blow up the lab last week!" Tony replied, half way up the stairs.

"That was an accident! Besides, Butterfingers started it!" I protested, watching my dad leave.

"Whatever you say, Pen." Echoed down the stairs.

* * *

I sighed, and shook my head. Various equations littered the table, and none of them seemed to be working.

What's wrong? Death asked me, his hands quickly forming the signs.

"This thing's just annoying me. I'm trying to figure out a way that if I ever end up in a lightning storm again, that I won't just fall to my death. I doubt that Hulk will always be there to catch me." I sighed, I couldn't figure out how to fix the problem.

I'd catch you. Death stated simply with a shrug.

I snorted, "That's sweet, but I don't want to have to rely on you to catch me ether."

Why don't you just tell your lightning to catch you? Death said, stumbling over a few words, but I was able to figure it out.

I laughed and replied, "I doubt it works like that, Death."

How do you know that? They're your powers. They'll listen to you.

I just shook my head. Maybe it worked that way for a guy who shouldn't even exsist, but it didn't work that way for the rest of us.

"Maybe it works that way for you, but not for the rest of us mortals." I stated.

Death got a weird look on his face, like he wanted to say something but couldn't.

You'd be surprised. He stated. It's Mortem.

"What?" I asked, seeing the letters spell the strange name.

My name, it's Mortem.

I stared at Death with a strange look on my face. "I thought you said you had many names?"

Death laughed silently, but it was nice to see a grin on his face, Everyone has a different name for me. I just chose Mortem.

"So, Mortem Eh?"

Dea…Mortem nodded, and I grinned.

"You want to help me test all of this stuff out?" I asked, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

Another grin appeared on his face as he said, let's do it.

"Awesome." I stated, grabbing all of my new stuff, and running towards the hidden room to Flash back to NM.

'Desert, here we come.'

* * *

After doing the usual 'make sure SHIELD sees me' thing, I turned invisible and climbed out the window.

Flashing to an abandoned warehouse about a mile outside of town, I took out all of the new equipment that made my stealth suit.

I had made a few gadgets; all of them were untested, besides the wrist bands that Tony made me.

It was hard getting into all of the metal covered clothing, just because they had been altered so a second party, or Jarvis, had to help.

The long sleeve shirt was a turtleneck but it couldn't be pulled on. We had slit the back, and added a metal seam, so that you had to slide it on like a backwards jacket, before the edges automatically locked together.

The leggings were also similar; and so was the skirt. The material was flexible and soft, but nowhere near as bendable as the fabric before.

The skirt was now extremely stiff, having the most metal added. Each section of the pleaded shirt could do something else, or was designed to. Not all of the gadgets had been added yet.

I had also taken the extra fabric, and created a very hard hood that attached to the back of the turtleneck. The hood hung extremely low, casting a shadow all the way down to my chin; hiding my face. The underside of the hood was still mostly just empty wires, but soon it would be a HUD just like Tony's suit.

My wrist bands when on over the sleeves, and added some bling to the bright outfit, though I was contemplating staining them black.

The boots, were now fire proof, and water proof. The heels and soles had been altered so that when they touched the ground, they impacted it at a certain angle that absorbed the impact, making them practically silent.

I would also have to learn how to walk in them, so they stayed silent.

I had a Palladium studded belt that if I focused, would be able to be the base of my shield, so it would stay up, feeding off of the Palladium, even if I was distracted.

While the rest of the outfit, did the same with my invisibility and EMP shield. Making me invisible to any device, no matter what it scanned for; except perhaps a metal detector.

The suit was easy to move in, but a lot of movements were limited because of the metal soaked fabric.

I kept my hood up, as it wasn't done yet, and started walking around, getting a feel of the outfit.

My eyes widened and I ducked to the ground as I saw D...Mortem's fist flying towards me.

"What the hell was that for?" I yelled, dodging a kick.

Your father and I agree on one thing. He stated with his hands as I dodged another kick. You need to be able to defend yourself. So I'm going to teach you.

"How the hell is this teaching me!" I asked, rolling on the ground to avoid him.

I believe in learning on the fly. Mortem grinned, Show me what you got.

With that I charged, my instincts flaring; and for the rest of the night, we sparred.

* * *

**Bit of a strange place to stop, but hey; when Mortem is done with her, Penny is going to be able to kick some 4$$. **

**Thanks to everyone. Big thanks to Expecto Prongs.  
Cp**


	32. A Stark Thing(unbeta'd)

The Unknown Variable

**Marvel, Disney, and JK own everything. I am a nobody. So go find a somebody to bother.**

* * *

I groaned as I walked out of the kitchen in the house. My whole body was sore. Mortem and I sparred until about three in the morning, and then I crashed. Literally, I crashed into a wall and blacked out.

Mortem brought me back to the house.

I took a bight out of an apple as I stormed into my office. My dissertations did just not want to be written. I didn't think that it would be this hard. Deciding that I would work on it later, I Flashed over to Malibu, I wanted to see Dad.

As soon as I materialized, I heard a crash and ran out of the room. I froze in shock as I saw Tony shooting the glass walls with the flight stabilizer. I put my hands over my ears at the noise.

Smoke filled the air, and one of the lights had detached from the ceiling; and only once he put his arm down did I yell, "Dad!"

* * *

"But I want to come with you!" I huffed; Tony was planning on going to Gulmira. Even though he didn't tell me, the news report and the broken glass said enough.

"No." Tony said, as he stepped onto the pad.

"Why not!" I said, I knew Yinsen too, and I had also been a captive of the Ten Rings. Sure, it wasn't my company (not yet at least) that sold the weapons, but I still had a few bones to pick with those people.

"You don't have a suit." Tony stated, but I knew that wasn't the reason.

"I have my Stealth Suit!" I stated, but knew it was a weak argument. My suit was still a prototype, and was nowhere near ready for combat.

"It's not made for combat, nor is it tested." Tony said, as the floor started to move and the Mark three appeared. Arms from the floor and ceiling came down, and within a minute, the armor was on.

"Please Dad, I have my powers, I can help." I stated, knowing this was my last chance.

"No, I can't lose you too." Tony said as the helmet snapped into place.

"Stay here." He said, his voice now rough and computerized. He fired up the repulors and took off through the hole in the roof.

"I'm coming next time!" I yelled as he flew away.

Crossing my arms over my chest I grumbled. It wasn't fair.

"I am sure your father is just worried about you, Miss Penny." Jarvis tried to sooth me.

"Yeah, whatever." I replied, as I turned back towards my desk to see Mortem sitting in my chair, playing with the almost completed Holo-Balls.

These things are a great idea. He stated, staring at the small projector.

"A great idea, but a pain in my neck." I grumbled as I took Tony's chair and sat down.

We could always spar. Mortem suggested a smirk on his face.

"No thanks," I stated quickly and started working on the Holo-Balls; trying to ignore the worry settling in my stomach.

* * *

'That's my girl' Mortem thought as he disappeared. He had some things' to discuss with Infinitas.

* * *

Over the next few hours I had managed to finish the Holo-balls. Now I just had to record footage, connect them to my computer, which would be their mainframe, and I would have a lot more free time on my hands.

Picking up the ten small balls and the flash drive that held the software; I Flashed back to NM. I had work to do.

* * *

It looked like I was cleaning, rearranging random things in the hallway, living room, and kitchen. But really I was placing the Holo-Balls in strategic places around the house, to the Hologram projected would appear flawless.

Hiding the last one in a large potted plant on the mantle, I walked back into my office. Downloading the software, I connected the computer to the Balls, and pressed record. Jarvis would contact me when Dad got back.

I had a lot of footage to tape.

"It's better now than never." I sated to myself and walked out into the main part of the house; SHEILD's bugs no longer being the only thing videotaping every move I make.

* * *

I sighed with relief as I laid down on my bed back in Malibu. It had taken another three and a half hours to get enough footage for the program to loop, without it appearing that it was looping.

Now, I could practically just stay here most of the time.

"Miss Penny," Jarvis's voice appeared through my new panic bracelet, it was smaller than the last one, and Tony promised that it wouldn't fry this time. "Your father's back."

I quickly got to my feet and exited the room, and froze at what I saw.

"You look like you've been through hell and back." I commented, eyeing and damaged armor.

"What did you do? Wrestle a Tank?" I added sarcastically.

Tony looked over to me, and he rolled his eyes, "Hello to you too."

As Jarvis tried to dismantle Mark Three from Tony, I described to him, in boring details, what I did while he was done.

"Well, at least you finished the Holo-Balls, right?" Tony said, trying to look on the bright side.

"That means you can stay here mo…hey!" He yelled, as one of the arms made the suit tighter, rather than looser.

"It is a tight fit, sir." Jarvis commented, as the many arms attempted to help their creator.

I turned towards the stairs just in time to see Pepper walking down. "Pepper!" I hissed and vanished from sight.

Pepper's face became one of confusion, shock and concern when she noticed the glassless walls and the glass all around the floor.

"Sir, the more you struggle, the more this is going to hurt." Jarvis told him, trying to get Tony to stay still.

"Be gentle. This is my first time." Tony replied, and I gagged, did Jarvis try to make that sound dirty on purpose?

Pepper looked up at Tony hearing this and her mouth dropped open at the sight that greeted her.

I snickered, it was quiet funny, there was like, seven arms trying to dismantle the suit, and Tony was trying to be still…he just didn't do that part well. He was also balancing on one foot. It was quite the sight.

"I designed this to come off, so… hey!" Tony stated as one of the arms twisted his arm in the wrong direction.

"I really should be able to…don't you think so P…" Tony thought aloud as Jarvis said, interrupting Tony before our cover could be blown.

"Please, try not to move, sir."

Tony got a confused look on his face, realizing that Jarvis interrupted him at that moment for a reason.

"What's going on here?" Pepper asked, approaching the elevated platform.

Tony froze as he realized what happened; he obviously hadn't heard me mention Pepper was coming. He glanced around, and noticing I wasn't visible, said,

"Let's face it. This is not the worst thing you've caught me doing."

I turned visible for a moment, mouth gagged and made sure Tony saw me; before I vanished again.

"Are those bullet holes?" Pepper asked, horrified her eyes going wide.

I desperately wanted to say, 'yes, yes they are.' But I didn't, Pepper ruined all of my fun.

* * *

It had taken a while, but Tony was finally out of the Mark Three. Pepper had left, some big famous dude wanted to talk to Tony. She had to deal with it; and for the first time, I was glad I was no longer working for him.

"…and then I ripped open the guy's chute, talked to Rhodes about using a failed test flight as a cover story, and came home." Tony said, wrapping up the story of what happened in Afghanistan.

"Because everything is always that simple." I said, rolling my eyes. Tony was manually working on the suit. I was handing him tools, and tinkering with the left glove.

"Trouble just loves you, doesn't it Dad?" I commented, thinking out all of the situations, both hostile and hilarious that I knew of.

"Must be a Stark thing." Tony commented with a small grin.

"Sir, Pepper is coming." Jarvis said, I instantly put the glove down and turned invisible.

As I hopped off the desk, Pepper walked in.

"Close one." I muttered in Tony's ear. He gave me a discreet nod before turning to Pepper.

"Hey, you busy? You mind if I send you on an errand?" Tony asked walking towards her, putting down his tools. "I need you to go to my office. You're going to hack into the mainframe, and you're going to retrieve all the recent shipping manifests."

My mouth dropped open, I could do that; and in half the time Pepper could, hell, I could even do it without being seen!

"This is a lock chip." Tony said, handing Pepper a flash-drive. 'This'll get you in."

I huffed; being invisible was a pain when you wanted to get someone's attention. I silently found a piece of paper and marker and quickly wrote Tony a note that I held up over Pepper's head.

**I could do that! In half the time, and invisible!**

Tony glanced questionably at the message, before shaking his head no slightly.

"It's probably under Executive Files. If not, they put it on a ghost drive, in which case you need to look for the lowest numeric heading." Tony commented lowly, moving some his tools around, not looking at me or Pepper.

"And what do you plan to do with this information if I bring it back here?" Pepper asked quietly.

"Same drill." Tony replied, and I couldn't help but wince at the way he said it. "They've been dealing under the table, and I'm going to stop them. I'm going to find my weapons and destroy them."

I wrote another message and waved it around until Tony glanced at it.

**You mean **_**we**_** are going to stop them. We're in this together. **_**Family**_** sticks together.**

I knew that the last jibe was mean, and brought up bad memories with Yinsen but I was determined to get through to my father.

"Tony," Pepper said resentfully, "you know that I would help you with anything; but I cannot help you if you're going to start all of this again."

'All this again?' I wondered, 'What's she talking about?'

"I watched you practically destroy yourself because of Evanna for _years_ Tony," My breath caught at the mention of my mother…Pepper couldn't have worked for Tony that long…could she? "I will not watch you go back down that path."

I saw Tony's eyebrow twitch at the mention of my mother, and his eyes flickered to me for a brief moment before he reinforced his mask.

"There is nothing except this. There's no art opening, there is no benefit. There is nothing to sign. There is the next mission and nothing else." Tony snapped, staring at Pepper heatedly; purposefully ignoring the comment about my mom.

My heart panged, but I told myself that Tony was just saying that because Pepper was there.

'But he cares for Pepper…' I thought to myself, 'I know he does…maybe he's just trying to make a point or get through to her.'

I hadn't even realized that my invisibility dropped before Tony glanced at me, his eyes widening for a moment, before they turned back towards Pepper. I quickly vanished from sight again, cursing myself for slipping.

"Is that so?" Pepper asked, her voice lighter than expected, I could hear the emotional mask.

"Well, then, I quit." Pepper added, after a moment of silence. She tossed the flash drive onto his desk, turned, and walked away.

"You stood by my side all these years," Tony said his voice filled with pain, "while I reaped the benefits of destruction."

Pepper turned at the harshness in his voice, "and now that I'm trying to protect the people that I put in harm's way," the unsaid 'ones I care about' was obvious, "you're going to walk out?"

"You're going to kill yourself, Tony. I'm not going to be a part of it." Pepper stated, shaking her head.

'It's better to be part of something bigger, then nothing at all.' I stated, and wished I could say it allowed. I wondered if there would ever be a time where I wouldn't have to hide.

"I shouldn't be alive," Tony stated, sitting down in his chair. His eyes were downcast, and I could tell he was wallowing in memories.

'But you are, you are alive.' I thought, oh how much I wished I could talk. I wrote the message on the paper and after moving behind Pepper again, I held it up for my dad to see.

"Unless it was for a reason." Tony added quietly. "I'm not crazy, Pepper. I just finally know what I have to do."

There was a pause, and my pride for my father swelled and he continued, "And I know in my heart that it's right."

Tony looked back down, and slowly Pepper walked over and picked up the flash-drive.

"You're all I have, too, you know." Pepper said softly as she left.

I dropped my invisibility, walked over and sat in Tony's lap.

"I'm here too, you know." I said, leaning into his chest, and wrapping my arms around him.

He slowly pulled his arms around my thin frame and tucked my head under his chin.

"I know."

* * *

**This chapter was a bit choppy at the beginning, but hey, I did my best. Last slow chapter for a while people, the plot thickens.**

**The next few chapters are gonna be FUN! And interesting! ... and a small bit depressing! Anyway, hope you all enjoyed it.  
Cp**


	33. With Angels and Old Friends(unbeta'd)

The Unknown Variable

**I haven't owned it before, why would I own it now?**

* * *

"Daddy?" I said softly, breaking the silence that had reined since Pepper had left.

"Hm?" He responded quietly, focused on repairing the suit.

"What did she mean…?" I hesitated, wondering if I should ask before I continued. "When she mentioned Mom?"

I glanced up at my father as he sighed, and put down his tools.

Tony motioned for me to sit, so I hopped onto his desk, as he flopped down into his chair.

Dad was silent for a while, as he was lost in thought. He brought his hand to his head and rubbed his temples.

I knew that this was hard for him, and guilt clenched my stomach. Perhaps I shouldn't have asked.

Just as I was about to tell him to forget about it, he opened his mouth, but didn't met my eyes.

"It was three years after your mother left that I met Pepper," Tony started, and I gave him my full attention. He deserved that much.

"I was a mess," he laughed harshly, before saying, "No, I was a complete disaster. I was drinking, even though I had sworn to your mother never to touch the bottle, and was out clubbing all night.

"It was different back then than it is now, back then, I could go out and be unrecognized if I wanted to be. And I had no attention of being myself."

He took a deep breath, and slowly continued, I could hear the pain in his voice. "I was slowly killing myself, and I didn't care. I blamed myself for Evanna leaving, and my father's death. I didn't care about anything. Not the company, not the world, not Rhodey, not even myself.

"I met Pepper at some pub in LA. She had just been fired, and was a mess. Somehow, I'm not sure how as I was beyond wasted, I ended up telling her everything. She helped me get back on my feet, I took over the company, and I started trying to distract myself."

He sighed, and continued, "I didn't mean to become a playboy. Your mother always hated them, but it was the little things that stood out… and I couldn't help myself. All of them, every single one, had something in common with your mother. The same color eyes, similar hair, the smile, the laugh, it was always something. When I was with them… I could pretend it was your mother."

My eyes widened, he really had loved her… I was touched and shocked. She really had broken his heart…it was all bloody Howard's fault.

"Pepper found out what I was doing pretty quickly, but after one particularly large blow up…didn't say anything.

"I eventually hired her, and she became my friend who I saw as often as possible, to my assistant who I saw every day.

"It took years…many, many years before the pain started to fade… it didn't go away… I doubt it ever will. But I was able to push it to the back of my mind. I drowned myself in work… it was the only thing I knew how to do."

Dad's voice broke, and I could tell he was holding back sobs; I slid off the desk and into his arms.

"Pepper…she saved me." He stated, wrapping his arms around me. "I was practically suicidal when I met her. I don't know what would have happened without her."

A sad smile appeared on my face, while I had some issues with Pepper, they were personal. I had acknowledged long ago how important she was to my dad.

"But you," Tony stated, lifting my chin so I could look into his eyes. "You came into my life, and oh, how you remind me of your mother. You two are so much alike I can't believe I didn't see it sooner. When I was around you… the pain would fade, it would fade more than it ever had before. I could be _happy _truly _happy_ for the first time in years.

"Then," Tony said, as tears fell down my face, "then I discovered that you _were _mine. You were the best thing that I could ever ask for. A perfect mixture of Evanna and myself, everything I could ask for in a daughter."

Tony wiped away my tears with his thumb as he said, "Pepper may have saved me, but you, you are my angel. My special little angel."

I buried my face into his chest and he wrapped his arms around me. Unaware of the disasters to come.

* * *

I stayed in Tony's arms until my Tablet started buzzing. That broke our comfortable silence and I stood up wiping tears off of my face.

"I should check that…" I said, clearing my throat.

"You do that." Tony said awkwardly, as he set back to work on the Mark Three.

I opened the Tablet quickly to see the screen flashing red, and an instant message on the page.

The color drained from my face as I recognized the email. I had created it for a friend in case of an emergency. If he was using it after all this time, it couldn't be good.

_We need to talk. Important. You know where I am. I am waiting._

"Shit," I cursed, and threw my tablet down onto Tony's desk.

"Dad, I got to go." I said, walking quickly to my room.

"What? Why?" he asked looking up at me in concern, when I didn't answer he said, "Is everything ok?"

"I sure hope so." I replied trying to give him a reassuring smile but failing miserably. I opened the door and ran into my room.

Tony walked around his desk his eyebrows knitted together.

Following me into my room he said, "Where are you going?"

"To check up on an old friend." I replied, and before Tony could say another word, I touched the rod, and was gone.

* * *

I flashed down, invisible, into an empty street.

After eyeing my surroundings I looked down at my outfit; I was wearing a white tank top, and a blue button up with a jean miniskirt. The outfit wasn't practical in case anything happened, but I knew that I didn't have time to change.

"Is everything alright, Miss Penny? Your father is requesting to know what is going on." Jarvis stated from my wrist, as I unhooked the bracelet. I couldn't get Tony involved. "Miss Penny, your father will not approve…" He said, as I stepped on the bracelet and walked away.

'He can't approve of everything I do.' I thought to myself.

* * *

I dropped my invisibility as I opened the door to the apartment. I had never been here before, but it was close enough to my mother's that I knew where it was.

I walked as silently as I could, wishing that I had at least put on my boots instead of flip-flops.

The apartment was dusty, and dark. All of the lights were off, causing my senses be on high alert.

I sent out an EMP pulse, checking to see who was in the apartment. It was empty besides for one person, who was in the living room.

Creeping slowly, I kept my eyes on every door, worried that I had missed someone…or something.

I quietly opened the door, and with a twist of my hand a palladium ball was in my hand. I was extremely grateful that Tony told me to keep the cuffs on at all times.

I stepped into the room, charging up an energy ball but froze, seeing who was sitting in a chair waiting for me.

He appeared to be in his late fifties, his grey hair was thinning, but his blue eyes were just as bright behind his round glasses as I remembered.

He was unshaven, and even from here I could sense his fear. He looked up, the light from the energy ball giving me away, and a small smile appeared on his face as he saw me.

I reabsorbed the energy, but kept the ball in my hand, just in case.

"Hello Penella. It's been a while." He said his voice soft, but echoed in worry.

I relaxed; a small smile appeared on my face as I replied, "Hello Dr. Millod. It's great to see you."

"I wish I could say the same my dear, we have a problem."

* * *

Dr. Millod sat on the couch opposite of me rubbing his temples.

"What's going on? Why contact me?" I asked, my eyebrows knitting together.

The old doctor sighed and spoke quickly and quietly, "My dear, someone is looking for you."

My breath caught and my brain froze, but I tried to think rationally, "SHEILD is doing a background check…are you sure it just wasn't…"

"Penny." Dr. Millod said harshly, and I froze. The doctor had never called me that before. Ever.

"They weren't looking for Telnets, they were looking for Penella, daughter of Evanna Grace. Two men, wearing black suits, showed up at the Ward yesterday. I retired after you left; I only come in to help with paperwork. But I was glad I was there.

"Shella, she got the receptionist job after you left, directed them to me, as they couldn't find your records in the computer. I have to say, you did a great job of erasing your history. Even the nurses that knew you couldn't prove it.

"I told them I couldn't help them that I had no clue who they were looking for. I was terrified. Not for me, I've lived a long life, and I've done my share of good in the world. But for you.

"These men…you could tell just by looking at them that they were looking for trouble." Dr. Millod sighed tiredly and continued.

"When they realized that they wouldn't get anything from me, they started questioning all the nurses. Some of the brighter ones, the ones that could tell they meant trouble, denied knowing anything. However… some of the younger ones, the ones you rubbed the wrong way, they spilled everything.

"While the nurses were being interviewed, I went over to the main building…and broke into the Archives."

My eyes widened, the Archives was where a physical file on every patent ever admitted was kept. No one but the Dean was allowed inside. I had pleaded with Dr. Millod before I disappeared, to destroy my files, but he wouldn't.

"I took your files." He said, and pulled them out from beneath his jacket. He passed the large file to me, and I couldn't help but feel in awe, he had done all of this… for me.

"I barely made it out of there, when one of the men stormed down, obviously looking for your file. It was that instant that I knew I had done the right thing."

Dr. Millod sighed loudly before continuing, "That night, I didn't go home. I knew I was being followed. So I went and visited my sister. She could tell something was wrong, but didn't push it.

"I…I tried to call Ashley, to warn her about the men looking for you, but I only got her machine."

Dread filled my gut as Dr. Millod's voice became more and more broken; it was if he was going to start to cry.

'No…' I thought. 'Not Ashley.'

"I must have called her twenty times that night, and…it wasn't until I saw the news the next morning that I knew."

"No," I said horror filling my voice, "Not Ashley."

She had been my best friend growing up, the only one of the staff besides the Doctor that cared.

"Not just Ashley, they got her, her husband, her sister who was visiting….and…they even got little Kyle." Dr. Millod said his voice grave and his eyes downcast.

We had all been somewhat of a family, Dr. Millod, Mom, Ashley and me. Kyle had been born only a month before I got out of the hospital. I never met him, but the pictures the proud young mother brought for me caused a tear to run down my face.

It was like my heart broke in two, and despair swallowed me. How could someone do this? It was all because of me. Ashley and her family died, protecting me.

"Wha…what did they want?" I asked my voice horse. I was blinking back tears at this point, and I wasn't sure how much more I could take.

"I don't know child. I've haven't stopped moving since Ashley…that was two days ago. I just knew I had to contact you, so I emailed you from a library computer, and came back here."

Dr. Millod started talking strange, he was looking at me weirdly and my stomach clenched at his next words.

"My dear child, you've grown into such a beautiful young woman. I want to help you, one last time. I don't have a family, and you have always been like a daughter to me…"

"Come on," I said weakly, "Don't talk like that Dr. Millod…"

"Penella, as long as I'm alive, they can find you. I wouldn't be able to survive torture, and trust me, those men could do it."

"No!" I cried, as I leaned over the doctor. It was only now that I noticed how pale he was, or how he was covered in a thick layer of sweat. "Don't do it Dr. Millod!"

"It's already done my dear," Dr. Millod said, and my eyes widened as I saw De…Mortem appear.

His eyes widened, seeing the two of us, and he said, I am sorry.

"Bu..But, but why?" I cried, tears streaming from my eyes. I couldn't believe it, he just couldn't die he had given me everything.

"I've always helped you my dear, if I have to die to protect you, then I am willing to go on." He said, his breath became shallow, and he coughed.

"It won't be long now my dear. Fast acting poison, even when delayed, is a quick death." He wheezed, "Look at me my dear child."

His old callused hand lifted my chin up, just as my father had done a few hours before, and his blue eyes met my own. "You will do amazing things, I just know it. Stay safe my dear, and never doubt that people care."

He coughed harshly leaning back into the couch, and fell silent.

"Dr. Millod, Dr. Millod! No, please don't go! Dr. Millod." I sobbed into his chest, I didn't even see Mortem leave, but I felt him return.

He pulled me to his chest, as sobs rocked my body. I cried for the doctor, I cried for Ashley and her family, I cried for my mother, and I cried for Yinsen. I even cried for Howard ruining everything.

He slowly rocked me, silently comforting me. Being my rock amongst the storm.

* * *

"Everyone is gone," I whispered some time later. I don't know how long I cried, or how long I stayed there in Mortem's arms. But eventually my eyes went dry and my sorrow slowly turned into determination.

I had learned years ago that the pain of loss never truly went away, but there was also another when one was lost.

For when one door closes, another opens; even if we can't see it.

"Everyone is gone." I restated, my voice turning hard. "Everyone but Dad. He's the only one left. I'm not going to lose him too. I just can't."

* * *

**Bit of a depressing chapter, I know, but hey! The plot thickens, and the confrontation with Stane is just around the corner. What will happen now that Penny is there?**

**You'll see. *smirk*  
Cp**


	34. Because of Him!(unbeta'd)

The Unknown Variable

**If anyone else things I own anything, I shall feed you to the dragon I have in my closet. Thank you.**

* * *

Tony's POV

I ran my hand through my hair, trying to calm my breathing and fluttering heart. Not only was Obadiah, my oldest friend and partner, going behind my back, but Penny had run off to God knows where.

Her bracelet was broken; Jarvis said that she had smashed it.

It had been hours now and I had no idea what to do. I didn't know where she had gone, or why she left.

"Damn, I knew I should have put a tracker in those cuffs!" I cursed, throwing a stapler at the wall to satisfy my anger.

"Sir, I am sure she is alright. She is very resourceful and talented." Jarvis said, trying to sooth my worries.

I snorted, of-course I _knew_ that. But it didn't help. Even Jarvis was worried, you could tell.

I had thrown my efforts into repairing the Mark Three when Penny left, hoping that I would be able to find her using the suit. But it was pointless. She could travel the globe in a heartbeat, and could deactivate any bug or electrical device she wanted. She wouldn't be found if she didn't want to be.

Putting my tools away with a sigh I walked upstairs. I needed something to eat, something sweat.

'Curse Penny promising me off alcohol.' I thought to myself. After we got back to Malibu I had sworn, to both Penny and on Evanna's grave that I would stop with the constant drinking.

As I reached the top of the stairs, the phone started ringing.

"Jarvis?" I asked aloud, looking around. There was no answer, greatly confused I started looking for a phone.

Pepper usually answered the phone, or Jarvis. Digging through the couch I finally found a handset.

'Why do I still have these?' I wondered, seeing Pepper's picture in the caller ID.

I quickly hit the green button and brought it up to my ear, sniffing, trying to block the worry from my voice.

"Tony?" I heard Pepper say at the same time a loud, extremely high pitched buzzing appeared. I froze, my head throbbing and my ears ringing.

I tried to talk, but the pain worsened as I attempted to move, I completely froze up, not even able to breathe.

As Pepper said, "Tony, are you there? Hello?"

The phone was taken from my hand as the ringing increased in my left ear. Fear and panic built up inside of me, but I couldn't do anything. I slumped back against the hand holding my head as all physical actions became impossible, and my body practically turned to lead.

I heard the phone click off, and I was lowered to the couch.

"Breathe." I heard someone say behind me. It took me less than a second to recognize it as Stane's.

I started trembling, side effects from the small device I just knew he was holding. It was a paralysis weapon that Obadiah had been very fond of. However, the government didn't approve, and production was shut down years ago.

"Easy, easy." He said, as my head fell back against the back of the couch. As soon as Obadiah's support left, my whole body just slumped down in a heap.

"You remember this one, right?" he asked, bringing the little device into my line of sight.

I wanted to snap at him and say, 'Of-course I do. I didn't create that one.'

Which was true; one of the other engineers came up with it. The man had been discharged afterwards; his idea's too dangerous and unstable.

For a moment, my anger towards Stane flickered, and I thought 'I'm glad Penny isn't here.' Then, my anger came rushing back full force; hiding the deep betrayal that I also felt.

"It's a shame," Stane continued, clicking off the device. "the government didn't approve it. There's so many applications for causing short-term paralysis."

Oh, how I wished that I had the Mark Three on; I would drop him into the ocean. I didn't understand why he was doing this…he had been my father's best friend, and the one person who listened to me growing up, after Mom died and before I met Evanna.

'Why Obie, money? Power? Girls? I seriously doubt the last one though…' I thought heatedly.

My eyes flickered to Obie as he appeared in my line of vision. Even moving my eyes took a lot of concentration and effort.

Obidiah reached down and turned my head so I could face him.

"Tony," he said, and fear flooded me. This wasn't the Obie I knew, the man who had almost raised me wouldn't be doing this…unless I didn't even know him at all.

He reached up, and removed the small glowing earplugs as he stated, "When I… ordered the hit on you,"

'No, no, no…it couldn't be…Obie wouldn't sell me out…' I thought desperately to myself.

'Everything…all of it… he caused it… HE did it!' I was horrified, and I could barely believe what I was seeing. 'Penny almost died… Yinsen DID die… all because of HIM!'

"I was worried that I was, killing the golden goose." He stated, gazing down at me. Drawing me out of my thoughts.

He took something out of his brief case. Even I wasn't sure what it was…although I didn't really trust my thoughts at the moment…my thoughts had become sluggish and random, and my attention drifted to small insignificant things.

'Did I just think it was funny he called me a golden goose?' I wondered, ok, there was definitely something wrong with my thoughts.

'Shock?' a small part of my brain, that didn't feel sluggish, suggested.

'funny… that voice sounds like Penny…' my thoughts slammed back into the present as the device was pressed against my Reactor.

'No…no! he can't take that!' I screamed in my mind just as the device started smoking, and twisting around the Arc.

"Armph." I groaned in pain, or tried to at least. My chest felt like fire, and I had trouble focusing on what Obie was saying through the torment.

"But you see, it was just," he slammed the handle down, and I gasped loudly in pain, although I was mentally screaming and crying. "Fate, that you survived that."

'NO!' It was like someone was burning my body, it was intense, it was painful…it…was unimaginable.

I could barely think as Obie… Stane… twisted the device, and lifted the Arc from my chest.

"You had one last golden egg to give." He said, with a very creepy smile.

I focused my blurry gaze on the Arc, it was sitting right there…

A random thought popped into my head before I banished it, 'was he always this creepy?'

I stared into his eyes, daring him…challenging him…

"Do you really think," he said, leaning down closer to me. "That just because you have an idea, it belongs to you?"

Oh, how I want to punch that grin off of his face.

"Your father," he continued,

'You're more alike than I thought.' I hissed to myself through the pain.

"He helped give us the atomic bomb. Now, what kind of world would it be today if he was as selfish as you?" Stane questioned, and yanked the Arc out.

"Ah" was all I managed, instead of the blood curling scream I was hearing in my head.

…my head wasn't working….

Oh, the pain… oh God….the pain…

…I was dying…

My breathing became labored as Stane twisted the Arc around in his hands. He pulled off the device he had used to rip it from my body, and raised it mockingly in front of my face.

"Oh, it's beautiful." He said, staring down at the bright light.

….just a chance…I just needed a chance…I would kill him…

"Oh, Tony," Stane said, a menacing grin appearing on his face, "this is your Ninth Symphony."

He leaned back onto the couch next to me,

…I needed to think…

"What a masterpiece. Look at that." He said,

…help…Jarvis…what happened to him…

"This is your Legacy." Stane said,

'No, Penny is.' I thought as a horrified scream cut through the air.

"Daddy!" My eyes flickered to the top of the stairs, where she stood. Her face was dirty, her eyes red, she was soaking wet and her feet covered in mud. Hope and worry appeared in my chest as the same time. Stane was dangerous, that much was now clear.

But the righteous look of fury that appeared on her face soothed my nerves. He might be dangerous, but so was she.

"I'm his legacy!" She yelled her sparks appearing around her in an electrical storm. It truly was a sight to behold. "And you just PISSED ME OFF!"

She threw her arm out, a large bolt flying from her fingertips. Stane leapt to the side at the last minute.

The bolt impacted the window instead of Stane, shattering the glass and causing a large blinding blast of light.

When my vision cleared, I could hear Stane behind the couch, Penny was charging up Energy Balls, one in each hand. Her eyes narrowed in fury.

"A daughter huh?" Stane said, appearing from behind the couch. I noticed the earplugs and tried to warn her, but it was too late. The device clicked back on, and my body stiffened once again as hers fell to the floor twitching; the energy balls just flickering out as they fell out of her hands.

'PENNY!' I screamed…no… 'DON'T YOU DARE HURT HER!' I screamed mentally, but the only sound I was able to make was a weak moan.

"Well then." He said, as he pocketed the device once again. "It looks like I'll have to take care of you as well. You Starks are more trouble than your worth anyway."

* * *

**Yes, I know, I'm evil! It's a cliffy! But don't worry, I won't leave you hanging for long.**

**Hope you enjoyed Tony's POV… not sure how well I did, but hey, I gave it my best shot.**

**Thanks to everyone and Expecto Prongs.  
Cp**


	35. His Legacy(unbeta'd)

The Unknown Variable

**I don't even own the sparks that fly in the air. So why would I own HP or Marvel?**

* * *

Rain poured down around us as Mortem wrapped an arm around my shoulders. I was up to my ankles in mud, but I did not care, I had come here for a reason.

I had made a 911 phone call, so they could collect the doctor's body, before I asked Mortem to take me here.

I stood amongst the headstones, rain pouring down around me, Death literally at my side. My lips twitched at the irony of it all but I smashed the happy thought.

Now was not the time to be happy.

I stared down at the headstones before, wallowing in my despair. It was my fault, Ashley and her whole family had died…because of me.

'Can I do anything right?' I thought to myself, 'All I do is get people killed…'

A nudge from Mortem brought me out of my thoughts; I looked up at him in confusion before he repeated what he had signed.

We should leave.

"No," I stated, I deserved to be here, in the pouring rain and bitter wind.

He grabbed my chin, and I wondered how many times that was going to happen today, before he glared at me.

This is not your fault!

"Yes it is…it's all my fault! I'm getting everyone I care about killed." I muttered under my breath.

No it is not! Mortem insisted. Do you blame me for collecting souls?

My eyebrows knitted together in confusion as I said, "No…"

Then don't blame yourself! Things happen! People die all the time. There was nothing you could have done.

"But…" I opened my mouth to protest but he covered my mouth with his cold hand. His face inches from mine.

It is not your fault. He insisted.

I sighed, I still felt guilty, and it _was_ my fault. But I knew better than to push the matter.

"I want to go home."

* * *

I said nothing, as I Flashed back to Malibu. Mortem didn't accompany me back. He had glanced upward before sighing and vanishing.

My eyebrows knitted together at the silence as I dropped my file onto my desk. There was always some kind of noise, ether from Tony, Jarvis, the Bots, or computers.

But there wasn't a sound. It was dead silence.

Something was wrong I just knew it. Abandoning my mud soaked flip-flops I slid into the lab.

"Jarvis? Dad? JARVIS!" I yelled in concern, as fear and panic gripped my heart. Jarvis did not respond, and I raced towards the stairs. Jarvis always responded…something had happened…I was sure of it.

"Dad?" I yelled as I ran up the stairs, my heart pounding in my ears.

'I've already lost Dr. Millod and Ashley today… I can't lose him too!' I thought desperately.

I heard a voice coming from the living room and I sighed in relief as I reached the top of the stairs.

Only to freeze in horror.

'NO!' I thought, as I saw Stane leaning next to a still Tony; his Arc in Stane's hands.

"…look at that." I heard him say, panic and horror swept through me…not Daddy…

"This is your Legacy!" he said, and that made me snap.

My eyes narrowed as my horror turned to rage. 'STANE!' I bellowed in my mind as I yelled;

"DADDY!"

Fury flowed through my veins, and a small breathe of relief swept through me as I locked eyes with my father.

I felt my sparks dance around me as I glared at the balding man.

"I'm his legacy!" I screamed my voice leaking power, my sparks flared stronger with my temper, creating an electrical storm that I was standing in the middle of.

"And you. Just. PISSED. ME. OFF!" I yelled, throwing my arm, which was crackling with energy, towards Stane.

I smirked evilly as a large, blue bolt of lightning flew across the room, Stane's eyes widened, and he barely managed to dodge at the last moment.

The large glass window exploded with a bright flash. As Stane leaped behind the couch and glass rained down, I flicked both of my wrists and two small balls appeared in my hands.

My eyes narrowed, as I charged up the Balls. It would only take a moment. I needed one clear shot…and Stane would rue the day he messed with my family!

"A daughter huh?" Stane said, his head appearing from behind the couch. I raised my hand, to throw the ball at the sadistic man when the most horrifying, squealing, high-pitched noise vibrated through the house.

I instantly felt my body freeze up, and panic gripped me as my connection to my Core was cut off. It was still there… it was still running my heart… but I could no longer reach its power.

I was trapped within my brain… I was paralyzed again.

My head spun as I hit the floor, I felt the Balls fizzling out without the connection to my power.

Finally, after what felt like forever, the noise stopped, and I heard Stane speak again. Though I could not see him…I could only stare at the ceiling.

"Well then, it looks like I'll have to take care of you as well. You Starks are more trouble than your worth anyway." Stane's voice sent chills down my spine.

But I couldn't help but picture Dad laying there…slumped on the couch, pale and in pain…even if he couldn't express it.

I knew that I was in trouble; I knew that something was going to happen, but I couldn't bring myself to care. It was Dad who I was really worried about… I still had my Core. As long as I had that I would be alright…but dad? Who knew how long he had left.

"You know Tony?" Stane's voice snapped be back to awareness. He was crouching right next to me. My breath froze, and a feeling arose that I hadn't felt since I was with Bald…

"I always knew that Evanna wasn't good for you."

If my eyes could widen, they would've, how on earth did he know? Tony must have been able to show some kind of shock, or maybe he saw something on my face, for he said.

"Surprised? Oh, I knew about her _long_ before you did. Why do you think she was taken along with you? She was meddling…just like her mother did.

"Your father," Stane continued, "Asked me to keep an eye on them… make sure they never came back. There wasn't a problem for years, and I eventually forgot about them.

"Then, a few months ago, _she_ shows up. And everything I had worked for, ruined! I knew I had to do something, so when I ordered the hit, I made sure she tagged along."

I glared heatedly at the elder man. 'How dare he!'

"But, when you survived…both of you… I knew that I must have missed something. I was afread that you had found out. When she quit, I was relieved, I could get back to my plans. You wouldn't have let her left is you knew…it looks like I was wrong.

"It's a shame… too bad I had to have the doctor and nurse killed. But I couldn't find you… and I knew that you couldn't be left alive ether."

I wanted to throttle him! He had sent those goons to the Ward! He was the reason that Ashley was dead! The reason that Dr. Millod killed himself! The reason we spent three months in a cave! The reason Dad and I still had nightmares! It was ALL HIS FAULT!

My breathing quickened and pain flared through my body as I realized just how close Stane was to me.

"Such a pretty girl." He commented, brushing a strand of my hair out of my face.

I wanted to run, I wanted to scream, and cry. This was dragging up all the memories of Bald.

'Leave me ALONE!' I screamed in my mind and a mangled moan escaped my throat.

"Say good bye Tony, I would hate to end things on such a bad note." Stane chuckled, and I heard a weak moan of protest from Tony as Stane gripped me by my hair and dragged my into the kitchen hallway, just out of sight from the living room.

He dropped my head to the floor with a loud thump as tears welled up in my eyes. My vision swam as my head spun, and I gasped for breath. Struggling to focus through the pain.

Stane's hand gripped my throat and I was thrown into the wall.

I silently screamed in pain as he held me to the wall, my head rolling to the side.

I couldn't help but compare this situation to the one with Bald about a month ago.

"Too bad," Stane said, stroking my check, "that I'm on such a tight schedule."

My eyes widened as I saw a small glint of silver before a knife dug itself into my gut.

A low gasp escaped my parted lips, though I was screaming in pain. My thoughts muffled and disoriented.

…no…

Stane twisted the knife as he said, "Oh how I would've loved to take my time to…savor…your beauty."

….Leave me be…

I moaned, and my vision started to fade to black.

The knife was removed with another small gasp as I fell back onto the floor.

I saw him eye my very exposed cleavage as blood seeped across the floor.

"Such a waste." He muttered darkly, walking down the hall, back to where my father was lying.

'…help…' I thought, as my vision faded to black and I could feel myself slipping. '…Mortem…help…please…daddy…'

And I knew no more.

* * *

**I am so evil! *dark chuckles* I would have made Stane go farther…but I don't know the ages of my readers…your guys' preferences, and also… this might be monitored by… someone… so… yeah.**

**Hope you all enjoyed that dark chapter…yup; Stane is to blame for almost everything!**

**Cp**


	36. Not Penny Too-Did You Just Say Daughter(

The Unknown Variable

**I shall send Pen, Mortem, and even Fati after you if you think I own anything I have not thought up myself.**

**I might even as Tony, Thor, the Big Guy, and Natasha to contribute if you **_**still**_** don't believe me. *evil grin***

* * *

Tony's POV

My breath caught as Stane walked back in without Penny, and I wanted to kill him.

'If he hurt her…' I threatened silently. My eyes widened as I saw some red smeared on his hands as he reached down to retrieve my Arc.

'Oh my! Is that blood!' I thought to myself, although my brain was still just as sluggish as it was before.

"I'll make a whole new generation of weapons, with this at its heart." Stane stated to himself. He acted like Penny _hadn't _just walked in here, and he _hadn't_ just confessed to screwing both of our lives up.

"Weapons that will help steer the world back on course, put the balance of power in _our_ hands."

I personally was trying to block out Stane's continued villain speech, and focus on breathing…something that was becoming incredibly hard.

"The right hands…" Stane whispered, as he picked up his briefcase and placed the Arc inside.

"I wish you could've seen my prototype. It's not as… well, not as conservative as yours."

Stane stated coldly as he stood up, briefcase in hand. "Too bad you had to involve Pepper in this. I would have preferred that she lived."

Stane walked towards the door, he paused as he passed the hallway where he had taken Penny and said, "A pity about your daughter though, parents should never outlive their kids…even if only for a short time."

What Stane was hinting at hit me full on as he exited my house.

'No,' I cried, tears welling up in my eyes, 'Not Penny too!'

* * *

I slammed into the elevator that was across from the stairs.

Once the paralysis had worn off, I had to force myself not to go and cradle Penny's body. It took every ounce of my self-control to not go crawling down that hallway looking for her.

Part of me was practically deteriorating at the thought of losing Penny, while the other part was hoping; insanely hoping that she was still alive.

I staggered out on unstable feet as the elevator opened into the lab. I gritted my teeth and leaned on the wall against the pain.

Sweat drenched my shirt as I practically fell through the doors into the main room of the lab.

My teary eyes narrowed on the small glass box that Pepper had given me. That was my destination. That was what I had to get.

Then I could get to Penny.

Gritting my teeth, ignoring the tears streaming down my face and blocking out as much of the pain, I took a step forward only to fall flat on my face.

I bit my tongue to stop of screaming out, as I slowly started to drag myself over to the desk. I had to push past various tools that had been left lying around, and pass all of the cars.

My breathing became incredibly labored as I finally reached my desk. My thoughts were slowing and I could feel my muscles failing, along with everything else in my body.

Side effects of not only the missing Arc, but the paralysis device as well.

My legs failed to even move by the time I got to the desk. Grabbing hold of a tub of tools, I tried to lift myself up to each the box, but all I managed to do was brush the glass with my fingertips before I collapsed.

I laid there on the ground, my head resting against the large tool cabinet, and I sighed.

'Pepper…Penny…I've failed you both…' I thought quietly to myself as my vision blurred and the pain flared.

Suddenly, I heard the tell-tale whistles and chirps of one of the bots, and my eyes flickered up to see the case holding the old Arc being lowered down to me.

I weakly grabbed it, taking it from the robot's claw.

"Good boy." I said to Dummy, as determination filled me. I had a chance; and I wasn't going down without a fight.

I weakly lifted up the case as high as I could before rolling and tossing it to the ground, while shielding my face with my arm.

The glass shattered, and the Reactor rolled free of the encasing.

No one hurt Penny or Pepper. Ever. And I was going to remind everyone that.

* * *

Rhodey ran into the dark house, and Jarvis's lack of welcome instantly set off warning bells. Jarvis was always there, something must be wrong.

"Tony?" he called out, as he entered the living room. There was an odd, familiar smell in the air but he couldn't place it.

"Tony?" He called out again, reaching the top of the stairs, giving the living room one last glance, noticing the shattered glass and broken windows, he raced down the stairs. "Tony?"

"Tony?" He repeated, as his eyes widened, taking in the missing glass panels and more shattered glass littering the floor.

Looking around, it took him half of a second to spot his friend lying on the floor on top of more broken glass.

"Tony!" Rhodes exclaimed in worry as he rushed over to his friend.

"Tony! You okay?" Rhodes asked, rolling his friend over onto his back, causing him to regain consciousness.

Tony's eyes went wide as e say his friend and he grabbed onto his jacket, trying to pull himself up.

"Where's Pepper and Penny?" He asked, his voice filled with worry and urgency.

"Pepper? She's fine, she's with five agents, they're about to arrest Obadiah. And Penny… I thought she moved to New Mexico?" Rhodes said relief in his voice at seeing his friend alright; although he became confused at the mention of the red haired teen.

"No," Tony said, struggling to sit up, his eyes wide.

"Upstairs… kitchen hall… Stane…!" Tony managed to get out, gripping Rhodes' black leather jacket tightly.

Rhodey's eyes widened and he quickly took off upstairs. Not completely sure what was going on, but worried all the same.

"Penny!" He called as he rushed back up the stairs; he frantically looked around before rushing into the hall. He became panicked as he finally recognized the smell drifting though the house…it was blood.

He slid to a stop as soon as he entered the hall. There, lying in a large pool of blood was Penny.

She was completely soaked in blood, and her abdomen was dark her shirt stained with blood. Her hair was spread out behind her life a fan, and she laid their eagle spread on the ground.

Rhodey quickly swallowed his new hatred for Stane and gingerly checked for a pulse.

He sighed in relief as he felt a faint pulse. Now that he was closer, he could see that she was breathing, just barely. It was shallow, and ragged, but she was still alive.

Tearing off part of his shirt, (silently cursing the need to ruin his new clothes) he made a makeshift bandage before carefully lifting the bleeding teen into his arms and rushing back down the stairs.

"Tony!" Rhodes yelled before he was even down the stairs.

"Rhodey, did you find….Oh my God, Penny!" He exclaimed as he saw his daughter in Rhodey's arms.

"First aid kit! Where is it?" Rhodey asked, looking for a place to put the dying girl.

"Kitchenette. Top shelf of left cabinet." Tony replied quickly as he slowly limped over, motioning for Rhody to put her on the couch.

Rhodey quickly set the teen down on the brown leather before rushing over and grabbing the kit.

While Tony cradled Penny's head, Rhodey set to work wrapping and cleaning her wound.

"Thankfully, it seems to have missed everything important. But she still needs to go to the hospital." Rhodey said, being in the military, you get some medical training.

"No." Tony said, staring at the girl in his lap.

"No? Tony! She's hurt, I'm no doctor. She needs the hospital." Rhodey stated, trying to convince his friend.

Something unusual flashed across Tony's face as he stated, "No, she's staying here."

"Tony! She could die…now I have clue what's going on between the two of you…" Rhodey started cautiously, but Tony's furious gaze silenced him.

"Will everyone stop saying I'm in a relationship with my _daughter_!" Tony yelled, taking his frustration out on his friend.

Tony froze, realizing what he had said, and Rhodes froze, not believing what he just heard.

"Did you just say, _daughter_?" He asked, not beilieving what he was hearing.

Tony remained silent for a moment, thinking about what he should say, before he sighed and nodded.

"Mine and Evanna's." Tony stated softly, looking down at the said teen worriedly.

"My God." Rhodes stated, staring at the teen in shock, before looking between the father and daughter. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Tony shrugged, not bothering to answer, "Didn't tell anyone."

Rhodes looked at Tony in shock and said, "Not even Pepper?"

Tony snorted and replied, "No, not even Pepper; And you can't tell anyone. No one knows she exists. Stane did, and look where that got her?"

Rhodey opened his mouth to protest, but stopped himself and sighed, it wasn't his secret to tell. Tony was his best friend; he would do anything to protect him…and his new daughter.

Tony turned his head quickly, thinking that he saw something. Realizing that it must have been a trick of the light, he turned back to Rhodey and said,

"Didn't even know about her until Afghanista….OUCH!" Tony exclaimed as Penny sat up quickly and smacked her head into his.

"Ow…" Penny moaned one hand on her forehead, the other wrapping around her stomach.

"Penny! You're okay!" Tony exclaimed and wrapped his arms around his daughter.

"Daddy!" She said, returning the hug. "You got the other Arc! It'll take more than a puny knife to take me down."

"I'm so glad you're okay…" Tony murmured into his daughters hair, as Rhodey watched, bemused at his friends behavior.

This was a side of Tony he had never seen before today, it was … strange to say the least.

"Where did you say Pepper was?" Tony asked, after a moment of silence.

"With five agents…they're about to arrest Obadiah." Rhodey said again. Unlike last time, Tony was actually paying attention, and as he pulled back from his daughter, his face paled and he said,

"That's not going to be enough."

* * *

**Hehe, how many of you thought Pen was dead? Probably not a lot but hey! I'll tell yah, it was weird having almost a whole chapter without Penny…. Sorry if it came out weirdly… I'm not the happiest with it but oh well.**

**Anyway, being sick really stinks. Hope you are all enjoying the story. Thanks to everyone and Expecto Prongs.  
Cp**


	37. Pay Back Time(unbeta'd)

The Unknown Variable

**I do not own anything. If I did, I would remake the 6****th**** HP movie and change a bit (more than a bit to be honest) of Iron Man III. But I don't, so go complain to someone else who does.**

* * *

Back to Penny's POV

I rubbed the bandage wrapped around my stomach and was sourly tempted to take it off. I wasn't sure how or when, but I was certain that Mortem had healed me. Since it no longer hurt, and I was slowly starting to feel like myself, I was pretty sure.

But because Tony didn't know about Mortem… and apparently Rhodes now knew about us, I was being careful.

"But I want to come!" I protested, as Dad walked onto the platform. It had taken less than a minute to get Jarvis back up and running. We still weren't sure what Stane did to him, but we had about ten different programs running, checking, fixing, scanning, and securing everything.

I was also happy to find out, that every SHEILD bug in the house had been destroyed by the device Stane used. It was the only good thing that came out of it.

"No Penny." Tony said, as the arms started to construct the suit around him. "You're hurt; you're not going anywhere."

"But Dad!" I protested, and almost decided to take the bandage off to prove that I was _fine_. "I am fine!"

"Yeah, like getting stabbed is fine." Rhodey muttered under his breath, but we both heard him. I glared at him, causing him to flinch. My look could still practically kill.

Rhodey turned away from my glare and back towards Tony and the Mark Three as it was fully assembled.

"That's the coolest thing I've ever seen." He stated, looking at the suit in awe.

"I've seen better." I comment, it was pretty awesome, but I wasn't happy with Rhodey, so why would I agree?

"Not bad huh? Let's do it." Tony stated, causing me to clap and say,

"Well I'll just go get my…" I was barely able to slide off his desk and take a step before Tony snapped.

"No Penny. You are staying here." He stated, as he rolled his shoulders and blasted his smashed blue race car out of the way. I opened my mouth to protest but he cut me off instantly. "No buts."

"You need me to do anything else?" Rhodey asked as Tony's faceplate snapped into place.

"Keep the skies clear." He said, "And Penny here!" he fired up the repolsers and with a blast, he was off through the hole in the roof.

"Damn." Rhodey watched him go with an unreadable expression on his face, before looking over at the silver Mark Two and said, "Next time Baby."

"I heard that." I called from my room, and I exited wearing a pair of spandex leggings and long sleeve top. It was basically a wet suit…but thicker.

"What are you wearing?" Rhodey asked, eyeing me strangely.

I rolled my eyes, this could get annoying. "None of your business."

I walked over and stepped onto the platform.

"Hey I thought that Tony said…" Rhodey started before I cut him off.

"I don't have a suit." Well, not the same type of suit. "Jarvis, set me up!"

"Miss Penny, I have specific instructions from your father to not allow you…" Jarvis replied, his tone final.

"Jarvis." I said warningly, "I said, suit me up."

"Your father…" Jarvis spoke again, and I sighed rolling my eyes.

"Jarvis, override code six-four-delta-bravo-nine-tango." I stated, my voice echoing through the lab.

"What?" Rhodey said, clearly confused.

Jarvis sighed, yup, I made an AI sigh. "That was quiet unfair Miss Penny."

"Just do it Jar," I replied, as my metal soaked clothes appeared out of the floor. Tony had fiddled with it, so I could change quickly with Jar's help…though he still wanted to 'upgrade' my suit to one of his suits. I was still saying no.

I stepped into the black boots and leggings, before sliding my arms into the sleeves. I grinned as the metal seams clicked into place and stretched. The metal fabric bended with my body, and I sighed as I popped my back.

I pulled up the hood and smiled as it locked into place, now it could only be removed by myself or Tony. It would never fall off.

"Awesome." I stated as I watched the HUD light up completely finished.

"Guess Dad isn't just working on his armor." I stated to myself as I realized that the few bugs I had yet to work out had been fixed, along with the HUD being finished.

"What on earth is that?" Rhodes asked me. I peered at him through the screen. It was a little disconcerting knowing that I wasn't actually seeing the world with my eyes, but the picture was excellent quality, and if it wasn't for the floating information bubbles and numbers on the side, I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference…maybe.

"You saw Dad's secret project. This is mine." I commented, shifting slightly so I was at the perfect diagonal angle to the hole in the roof.

Rhodey saw me move and came to stand in front of me. "Tony told me to keep you here. And I thought you said you didn't have a suit?"

I rolled my eyes, though I knew he couldn't see me and said, "Different type of suit. And you can't stop me."

"Are you sure about that?" Rhodey asked, though he wasn't even sure of himself.

"Yup!" I stated, activating my invisibility just long enough so I was directly beneath the hole.

I became visible as I said, "Bye Rhodey! I'm sure Daddy won't be _too_ mad at you." Then, with a large unseen smirk on my face, I Flashed away with a loud bang, lightning bolt and all; leaving a shocked Colonel behind.

I wasn't hiding tonight.

Tonight, was payback time.

* * *

"Jarvis," I said as I appeared on a roof about a block from the factory, where I assumed Stane, Pepper, and more importantly, my father would be.

"Yes Miss Penny?"

"How's Dad's Arc holding up?" I asked, scanning my surroundings, I wasn't sure if Dad was here or not yet, and I didn't want to be in the wrong place.

"His Arc is currently at 48% and falling, it wasn't…"

"Designed for sustained fight, and his new suit takes a lot more power than his first one. I know, keep me posted just in case." I stated to Jarvis. I didn't want anything to happen.

"You two are so much alike it is scary at times, Miss Penny." Jarvis stated to me.

"So you've said," I muttered under my breath as I looked around for someone, "So you've said."

Indeed, Jarvis had claimed that Dad and I's similarities were frightening. Personally, I think he's just teasing.

A loud breaking noise caught my attention as I hopped across the roof tops to the Reactor Building.

I cursed as I saw the outline of Stane's large…okay humongous suit and Pepper's shadow of a figure.

"Jarvis, patch me through to Dad, and keep the channel secure!" I stated, as I saw Tony fly in.

"STANE!" I heard him yell as Stane pointed the large gun at Pepper. Both of their attentions turn towards Tony, letting me Flash in next to Pepper, grab onto her arm, and Flashing to the other side of the building, close to the Arc, but away from the fight.

"Who are you!?" She screamed, stumbling from the Flashing experience.

"A friend." Was all I stated, and I was glad that my hood modified my voice.

I Flashed back to the front of the Reactor building to find both men gone, and explosions coming from the highway.

"Come one Dad!" I stated annoyed, as I carefully Flashed away.

I reappeared in the middle of a traffic disaster. A large eighteen wheeler had crashed on one highway, causing a huge traffic jam, which cars were still slamming into, and on the other side, people were swerving and slamming on brakes to avoid hitting the suits.

I saw Stane pick up a car that held a young mother and her three kids, and my eyebrow twitched. Okay, now, that was too far.

"I love this suit!" Stane yelled as he picked up the car,

"Put them down!" Tony demanded as Stane replied,

"Collateral damage, Tony." He stated, stalking towards Tony. My eyes narrowed I Flashed right next to Tony and let a bolt of lightning Fly, just as a large blast came from the central reactor.

Our combined attack blasted Stane back, but caused the car to go flying through the air. Thankfully Tony caught it and it landed on its wheels…the bad news… was that as soon as Tony put it down, the Mom floored it and it ran Tony over.

"Ouch," I said as Jarvis informed me, "Your Father's power's been reduced to 19%"

"Shit," I cursed under my breath as Tony said, "Penny?! I thought I told you to stay home!'

"And as I told you," I replied, eyeing Stane as he walked over, "This is my fight too."

"When did you say that?" Tony asked me, and I rolled my eyes. And glared at Tony's HUD feed in the corner of my screen.

"Oh, let it go Dad." I told him as he used his reposlers to jump high and grabbed a motorcycle from under its rider and smashed Tony with it.

"Dad!" I cried out as I watched him get thrown into the air and crash into another car.

"Talk later, kick but now?" I suggested as I started directing the panicking crowd.

"Just leave, go that way!" I told a bunch of people who were fleeing the bus Tony had landed in front of.

Stane jumped into the other lane and kicked Tony into the bus.

"Okay Stane. You've Pissed Me OFF!" I shouted as I let loosed two large lightning bolts. They flew true and struck Stane in the back, making the power flicker for a moment and knocking him into the bus.

He landed on his feet, but seemed to believe that the attack came from Tony, for he bent down and picked him up saying, "For 30 years, I've been holding you up!" he then slammed Tony down onto the ground, making sparks fly.

"I built this company from nothing!" He stated sinisterly, stomping on Tony.

With four twists of my wrists, I slowly charged up one large energy ball within both of my hands.

'Oh, you asked for it!' I thought as the ball of energy grew, and grew. Tony tried to get up, but Stane grabbed him and threw him into the bus. "and nothing will stand in my way. Least of all…YOU!"

The bus collapsed in on itself as I yelled, "Oi, big metal and stupid! I've got a present for you!"

With a large heave of my shoulders I threw the ball at him. It exploded in a shower of bolts, sparks, and flames causing Obadiah to be thrown backwards across the highway.

Sadly, because Stane was also about to fire a missile at the bus, the explosion caused it to fire so the bus Tony was in also exploded.

"Shoot, that didn't go as planned." I muttered to myself, "Dad are you okay?" I asked, his video feed was crackling, and I knew the suit had been damaged, I just hoped not too badly.

"I've had better days." He commented as he was thrown through the air, but managed to catch himself before he crashed.

"how about we take care of this and go get pancakes." I suggested again, I really needed to talk less.

"We end this is no problem, and I'll fly us to France for Crêpes." Tony stated.

"Really?" I said, as I charged up another Ball, "Cool."

"Impressiev! You've upgraded your armor!" Stane yelled, looking at my dad.

"Ok, is he ignoring me? Of just plain stupid?" I asked, getting annoyed that Stane was ignoring me.

"Maybe both? But definitely the second." Tony told me as Stane continued his rant.

"I've made some upgrades of my own!" he yelled loudly.

"Yeah," I yelled back Flashing in front of him, "We've noticed."

"Would it be naive to ask you to stay out of this?" Tony asked me, sending me a pleading look through the feed.

I shrugged, "You can ask, I'm still gonna stay."

I brought my hands up to cover my ears as Stane's extremely _loud_ repolsers flared to life.

"Sir," we both heard Jarvis say, "It appears that his suit can fly."

"Come on!" I sighed, "How is it I'm the only one that _can't _fly!"

"Duly noted, take me to maximum altitude." I heard Tony command Jarvis as he took off flying.

"With only 15% power, the odds of reaching that…" Jarvis said but Tony inturpted with a growl.

"I know the math! Do it!" Tony yelled, shooting off into the sky, Stane right behind him.

'Oh, I'm not staying out of this!' I said with a growl. But it wasn't like I could go Flashing across the sky… I'd probably end up crashing into something.

Suddenly I remembered what Mortem had told me, about telling my lightning to catch me, that it was mine…that it would listen…

"I wonder," I said, a smirk appearing on my face as my sparks flared.

* * *

**AND….DONE! Okay, nowhere near done, but this chapter is! Rest of Stane, Tony, and Penny's fight later. K? Now… now I say thanks to all, and Expecto Prongs my Beta, and say,**

**See you next time,  
Cp**


	38. Family Sticks Together(unbeta'd)

The Unknown Variable

**I own nothing, I own nothing, I own nothing, so go bother someone else, and bring your lawyer with you.**

* * *

"Work, work…come on! Work!" I muttered under my breath, trying to quell my panic as I fell through the air. Perhaps just Flashing up to several thousand feet wasn't such a good idea.

"Thirteen percent power, sir." Jarvis relayed to both of us, instead of one of us at a time.

"Climb!" I hear my dad order, as I tried to focus my sparks…

"Shouldn't have done this…shouldn't have done this….BAD IDEA!" I screamed, and closed my eyes as I free fell through the air.

"Penny! What are you doing!" Dad asked me, but I ignored him, I was too focused on my sparks.

"Eleven percent." Jarvis stated.

"Keep Going!" Tony yelled.

"Surge, surge, please, surge!" I cried as Tony called my name again.

My sparks flared, and I opened my eyes to see myself hovering about ten feet away from a skyscraper's rooftop. Random static bolts were flying all around me, and I had no clue how, but I was floating.

"Cool…was Mortem right?" I muttered under my breath, making sure Tony couldn't hear.

I glanced at Tony's face before twisting around and seeing the flares that was the suits in the sky.

"I'm a coming." I stated, and Flashed away. Hey, I couldn't fly, but if I could Flash and float or whatever… I was good.

"Seven percent power," I heard Jarvis report as I reappeared, though his voice was wavering. Shit, not good.

"Just leave it on the screen." Tony yelled. "Stop tell me!"

I flashed higher, and brought up my shield to protect me against the cold…not that it worked. My breath became shallower as the air became thinner, but I ignored everything other than helping my dad.

Stane caught up quickly, as I was trying to Flash and Float over to the couple.

I narrowed my eyes as I saw him grab onto Tony's leg, damaging the repolser. Stane pulled down to him, and after punching him, started squeezing him.

"Oi!" I yelled, idly wondering what was up with my British dialect today, and, while hovering in the air, threw a large bolt that hit Stane in the back of the head.

His repolsers flickered, but nothing else came out of it… I could use an EMP blast to short out his suit, but with Tony right there, I might end up ruining Dad's as well.

"You have a great idea, Tony, but my suit is more advanced in every way!" Stane exclaimed as I charged up another large electric ball.

"One shot…just need one shot…." I stated to myself, though I knew Tony could hear me.

"How'd you solve the icing problem?" Tony stated, "Oh, and I believe you have met my daughter?"

"Icing problem?" Stane echoed, worry in his voice, "I…" But whatever he was about to say was unheard as the suit died. I released the blast, and it knocked Stane away from Tony and caused him to start freefalling.

"Might want to look into it!" Tony called down.

"Starks 1, Stane 0." I stated with a grin.

Tony stood there, balancing on only one repolser and I floated next to him, surrounded by my storm of sparks.

"How did you get up here?" He asked me as Jarvis reported,

"Two percent." The repolsers all flickered, and Tony dropped a foot before catching himself. Then they completely died and he fell about five hundred feet before they sparked back to life for just a moment.

"Not good." Tony told me, as I let go of my sparks and fell down and hovered next to him.

"We are now running on emergency backup power." Jarvis said as the repolsers stopped working altogether.

"Come one!" I cried, and seeing how swiftly he was falling I Flashed down to him. I grabbed onto his shoulders, and charged up my sparks. The energy flew from my reactor, into Tony's giving it a boost it greatly needed.

The reposlers flickered on for a moment before failing again.

"Want me to Flash you down?" I asked loudly.

"No, don't know how the suit'll react." Tony replied, as we continued to fall.

I fed more energy into the suit, causing sweat to appear on my brow. I started panting as the repolsers flared back to life.

For the rest of the fall towards the earth, the repulsers came on every thirty seconds or so; giving us much better control over the free fall then before.

Tony managed to land on the factory's roof, and I dropped to the ground, panting heavily. The repolsers died, sending Tony crashing into to roof.

"Ouch," I commented as I ran quietly over.

"Potts!" Tony said, and Jarvis connected them. I remained silent, regaining my breath.

"Tony! Oh, my God are you okay?" Pepper yelled, her loud voice caused me to twitch. I did not need her that loud in my ear piece.

"Volume down a bit, Jar." I muttered, glad that Pepper did not hear me.

"I'm almost out of power." Tony commented as he pulled off his glove and went to remove his helmet.

A bad feeling appeared in my stomach as Tony continued, "I've got to get out of this thin. I'll be right there."

I jumped as Stane landed right behind Tony; thankfully, Tony closed his faceplate as Stane snarled,

"Nice try!" and tried to punch him. Tony dodged and went to shoot him with the repolser but he tried to shoot with the hand that no longer hand a glove.

'Shoot,' I thought as I charged up energy balls. Then, Stand punched him in the face, sending him tumbling across the roof.

"Leave him alone!" I yelled, throwing ball after ball at him.

But they seemed to have almost no effect on him. Tony, using his repolsers, jumped up and punched Stane in the faceplate, but it did nothing except bang…loudly.

"Dad," I stated, my eyes widening, "Distract him. If I can get a good hold on him, then I might be able to drain the Arc dry!"

"Got it." Tony replied right as Stane managed to grab him with both hands and started pulling the suit apart.

Tony struggled for a moment as the suit sparked before he said, "Now would be a good time please!"

His words snapped me out of my shock and taking a running leap, I managed to lock my hands around the mechanics of his neck, and my arms flared as I pulled as much power off of him as I physically could.

"Weapons status?" Tony asked, and I focused on his voice, the power I was absorbing was making my chest hurt… the Arc and my body could only hold so much.

"Repulsors offline. Missiles offline." Jarvis replied as the suit started spewing oil out of the back.

My sparks were dancing around me, and I struggled to absorb as much power as I could. My very skin hurt, and he energy was filling every atom of my body, trying to follow my commands. My eyes burned and my vision spun as Stane's suit died for a moment.

"HEY!" Stane yelled as the grip on Tony slacked just enough for him to yell, "Flares!"

I closed my eyes just in time, for a bunch of bright flares exited the suit from the hip, and Tony was dropped in the process.

I took a deep breath, against the overwhelming sensation of being electrocuted for the first time _ever_ and then pushed as much power as I could out, against the suit beneath me.

The resulting explosion was much larger than I anticipated; I flew across the roof, and landed hard, on my back.

"Oh," I moaned as I slowly rolled over, "Not doing that again…" I looked up to see Stane trying to climb to his feet on the other side of the roof. While the blast hadn't moved him very much, the suit was scorched and the power kept flickering. I had done some damage.

Stane was blinded by the flares, as he said, "Very clever, Tony. How does it feel? Having a freak for a daughter?"

Rage filled me as Tony and I yelled together, "I'M/SHE'S NOT A FREAK!"

Stane chuckled as his vision returned, and his suit smoking, flickering, and occasionally twitching.

He started to look around to roof for Tony and I as I turned invisible and Tony hid behind an AC unit.

I crept silently over towards Tony, checking to see if Tony had added any gadgets to the skirt that I hadn't notied before.

My eyes widened as I spotted throwing stars that also appeared to be made out of Palladium. My brow furrowed as I thought up a plan. However, so was Tony.

"Potts," Tony said quietly, drawing my attention.

"Jar, volume a bit louder please." I whispered, and the volume increased.

"Tony!" Pepper gasped through the intercom.

"This isn't working," He said, and I glanced down at his video feed to see that it appeared that his HUD was cracked…among other things. That wasn't good. "We're going to have to overload the reactor and blast the roof."

"Well," Pepper said, in shock, "how are you going to do that?"

"You're going to do it." Tony replied, I sent him a raised eyebrow in silent question, but he gave me a look that said, 'later.' "Go to the central console, open up all the circuits. When I get clear of the roof, I'll let you know. You're going to hit the mast bypass button; it's going to fry everything up here."

I pulled four stars into my hand, I had no clue how to throw them, but I would give it a try.

Knowing that Tony and Pepper needed a distraction, I silently crept to the other side of the roof, charging up the star. This was a total wild card… I hoped it worked.

"Okay, I'm going in now." Pepper said, as I let the star fly. It flew true, and hit Stane in the leg. The metal star exploded on impact, energy flew everywhere while the metal star itself imbedded itself into the leg.

"Make sure you wait till I clear the roof. I'll buy you some time."

"I'm already doing that." I stated quietly, and if Pepper heard me, she made no comment. Two possible reasons, Jarvis modified my voice, or Jarvis block Pepper from being able to hear me. Either way, Thanks Jar.

Stane stumbled, almost falling. He fired a missile at where I was, but I was already on the other side of the roof. The star slowed him down, the leg was now limping. With a smirk on my face, I pulled the other twelve stars out.

"Go time." I whispered and continued on with my game.

Three stars later, and Stane's movements were limited by a great amount. Nether legs could bend, and the left arm was practically immobile.

Just as I was about to launch another star, Tony jumped onto Stane's back, and stuck his hands into the mechanics and wiring.

"This looks important!" Tony stated as he pulled out a large tangle of cords.

Stane flared around, trying to reach Tony who hung on to his back with all of his might. I threw another star that hit Stane in the chest, however, it also made Tony slip, letting Stane grab him and throw him from his back….by the face.

"Sorry!" I told Tony as he slid onto the large skylight…his helmet and connection to both me and Jarvis gone.

I threw another star, right at the reactor, but Stane saw it coming, and blocked it with Tony's helmet. Before crushing it like a bug.

Throwing the smashed helmet at me, I barely managed to dodge as Stane opened up his suit.

"I never had a taste for this sort of thing," He stated, an insane look on his face.

"Really?" I stated sarcastically, "You can't tell."

"But I must admit, I'm deeply enjoying the suit." Stane stated, glaring at Tony.

Taking another star, but not charging it, I threw it towards Stane. However, it barely scratched the arm and bounced off.

"Not very fun toys without the powers huh brat?" Stane commented, looking at me since he could finally see me.

"I'm not a brat!" I hissed, the HUD making my voice louder than it actually was.

"You finally outdid yourself, Tony." Stane stated, limping slowly closer to my father. "You'd have made your father proud."

I hissed at the comment, but I didn't see Tony's reaction as I had pulled another star out and charged it up.

I saw Tony stand up as I shot the star that hit Stane right in the back of the knee; causing his leg to lock and him to wobble when the star exploded.

"It's ready, Tony! Get off the roof!" I heard Pepper shout in the distance.

Stane activated the machine gun attached to his right arm. Tony brought his arm up, and the armor created a shield for his face. The bullets, however, shattered the glass that Tony was standing on, causing him to fall and having to grab the beam to stop him from falling.

"DAD!" I yelled, and let another star fly, this one impacted the machinegun, causing it to explode in Stane's face and the arm to catch fire.

"TONY!" I heard Pepper yell. I raced towards my father, and approaching the broken skylight, I threw up a large field, the protected both myself and my father.

"How ironic, Tony!" Stane yelled, the bright light from the large Reactor making everything blue.

"What the bloody hell do you know about irony?" I asked under my breath, but Tony heard me.

"Trying to rid the world of weapons, you gave it its best one ever!" Stane yelled.

"The best weapon in existence is the human mind," I quoted my Metaphysics Professor, Tony cracked a weak grin but it faded within a half second.

"Pepper!" Tony yelled, while shooting me a look. "Get out of here." He said, looking at me.

"No." I stated, I wasn't leaving. I knew what would happen when the Arc overloaded. I wasn't leaving Tony up here to die…alone.

"And now I'm going to kill you with it!" Stane announced as he fired a missile. It missed by a long shot, exploding at the edge of the roof.

"You ripped out my targeting system! And she damaged my movement." Stane announced.

"Time to hit that button!" Tony yelled, giving me one last pleading look.

"You told me not to!" Pepper protested.

"Hold still, you little prick!" Stane yelled, and fired another missile, which landed closer than the last one.

"Just do it!" Tony yelled the same time I yelled, "Listen to him, Woman!"

"You'll die!" Pepper yelled back.

The third missile fired and it caused Tony to slip. He was now only holding on to the bar with one hand. I lunged forward and wrapped both of my hands around Tony's wrist. I focused all of my strength on my shield, and opened my senses… I had no clue if it would work…

"PUSH IT!" Tony yelled at his PA before giving me one last pleading look.

"We're family." I said, letting my hood drop back so we could look in each other's eyes. "Family sticks together."

We both closed out eyes as we heard the energy built beneath us, and I concentrated on my shield as hard as I could…encasing both of us.

Then, the energy hit.

* * *

**Well, that's all for today, but hey! It was a long chapter! So be happy. I'm not completely happy with the chapter, and yes, Penny could have done a lot more. It was her first time in an actual fight… so yeah no matter how much I want her to be able to kick some A$$... she still has things to learn.**

**So if you're going to bug me about her not using her full potential…then go shut it. Other wide, I welcome all reviews. Thanks to everyone, and Expecto Prongs.  
Cp**


	39. DADDY!-Just A Friend(unbeta'd)

The Unknown Variable

**Go sent your evil legal hounds someplace else, for I own nothing.**

**(just so you know, I'm going to another camp this week (today), but I'm sneaking my phone in so expect the daily updates to continue...if I have service. If I don't... I'll make it up to you all somehow.)**

* * *

It was exhilarating.

It was an extreme, intense, overwhelming high.

Every nerve was aflame, every molecule sparking with energy.

It was….

Indescribable;

Unimaginable;

Inconceivable;

Unspeakable…

It was, unworldly.

As soon as the blast of pure, electrifying energy hit us, I pulled as much as I could into my body, while at the same time, directing it into my shield.

My mind blurred, as my consciousness connected to every spark of that large blast.

The impact of the blast threw Tony and me onto the roof, out of the way of the large blast. My shield repelled most of the flying bots, consuming the rest that threatened our lives.

The whole sky lit up with enough light to awaken everyone in a fifty mile radius. I vaguely heard Stane's pain filled scream, as he was caught in the middle of the electrical storm. I also vaguely remember a large beam of pure energy shooting into the sky like a… well… like something.

I was barely able to hear the distant thunder crackling, caused by the new amount of electricity in the atmosphere.

My eyes finally closed as the noise vanished in one large zap, and everything around me went dark.

I heard large thundering crashes, and I imagined that Stane had fallen into the Arc bellow.

There was a large explosion I felt Dad shift next to me, and his metal suit covered my body just as the flames exploded around us.

The explosion was short, but the smell of electrical fire filled my nostrils.

Dad slumped back down next to me, and I slowly rolled over to face him; wincing while I moved.

"Daddy?" I whispered, but as I could barely hear my own voice, I could tell that he couldn't hear me.

"Daddy?" I croaked, raising my voice as my spinning mind slowly became more aware. I noticed the charred, smashed remains of the Mark Three, and as I managed to push myself up on one elbow, my eyes widened as I noticed the Arc in his chest was out.

My whole body was sore and tired. My Core was fluttering, exhausted from having to channel so much energy in such a short amount of time. But that didn't stop the pure horror that filled me, seeing my father's motionless body.

"Daddy!" I cried, struggling to move. Biting my lip, I managed to heave myself up into a sitting position that caused my head to spin.

"Wake up Daddy!" I cried, tears threatening to spill over. A tear dropped from my eye as I tried to call my sparks to my hands.

"No!" I cried as my Core fluttered, unable to heed my command. "Daddy!"

I squinted my eyes and tried to push the sparks into my fingers. One lone spark appeared for an instant before it vanished.

"Come one Daddy!" I yelled shoving him just enough to make the suit rock.

My eyes widened as the damaged Reactor started to flutter, slowly, back to life.

"Oh, thank God." I cried in relief as the Arc slowly flickered, its light starting to glow once again.

"Tony!" My head snapped to the side as I heard Pepper's voice echo through the factory.

Conflict tore through my heart; I didn't want to get discovered, but… I didn't want to leave Tony here alone.

"Tony!" Pepper's voice was getting closer, and I could hear the faint sound of debris being shifted.

'Arg,' I sighed to myself, realizing that the SHIELD agents were still here. I had forgotten about them.

I pulled the hood over my head just as Pepper and two SHEILD agents burst onto the roof from the stairway.

"Freeze!" Agent Coulson, who looked more banged up than usual, announced trailing his gun at me.

'Well, that was a close call.' I thought as I put my hands up.

"Who are you?" Pepper demanded again, as she carefully hurried over to Tony. The other agent was calling for backup, a cleanup team, and a medical team.

"Just a friend." I replied again, taking a few steps away from Tony so that the worried PA could get close to her boss.

"You need to come with us for questioning." Agent Coulson said, stepping closer cautiously.

I shook my head, and replied, "Can't do that. Sorry. Family's waiting for me."

I took a step back as the two agents slowly got closer. "We just want to talk with you."

I sighed, my Core was still fluttering, but the air was charged enough… it might just work.

"Sorry, I mean that. But I can't." I replied as I raised one arm into the air, and started drawing the static to me.

"See yah 'round." I called as I pulled the electricity from the air to Flash me home; and I vanished with a very visible and _loud _ strike of lightning.

* * *

"Gah!" I exclaimed as I fell flat onto my face reappearing in my hidden room.

"Ow…" I moaned slowly getting to my feet. Taking a deep breathe against the fatigue, I shivered as Mortem appeared next to me.

"Help me out of this." I stated tiredly. A small, sad smile appeared on Mortem's face as he slowly undid all of the metal hinges and removed my thin suit.

I collapsed onto the bed as the last of the suit was removed. My body was black and blue… or it would be soon. Each breath I took seamed to last for a lifetime, and each movement felt like I was trying to move a mountain.

I opened my eyes tiredly as I felt Mortem tap my arm.

"What?" I croaked tiredly, I was emotionally, physically, and mentally drained. I wanted to sleep. For like…ever.

You look like hell. He stated, and I would've rolled my eyes if I could.

"Obviously." I drawled, my eyes closing again. "Would've been better if you were there."

I cracked one eye back open as Mortem tapped my arm again to get my attention.

Can't interfere. You know that.

Oh, I knew that. Mortem had _tried_ to explain what he could a while ago. I just didn't really care.

"Yeah…can't interfere in major events. I think you already blew that one." I commented, closing my eyes again.

I just wanted to sleep…why was I talking to him again?

Mortem didn't answer, and I had a feeling that he couldn't find a way around all of the stuff he wasn't supposed to tell me.

"Unless you found a loophole or something." I muttered to myself, knowing that that was probably the case.

"I'm going to sleep now… wake me in a few hours. Dad's going to need a new Arc…" I sighed as I drifted off to sleep; Mortem sitting by my side.

* * *

I had slept for about an hour and a half, before I woke up. Mortem was gone…again…but I felt that he had done something, for I felt like I had slept for much longer.

With most of my energy back, and my Core no longer fluttering, I set to work on Tony's new Reactor.

Thankfully, we had ordered extra of the materials just in case. We just hadn't bothered to build any extras… I was going to have to fix that.

So anyway, about four-ish hours (I lost track to be honest) after I woke up, Tony's new Arc was finished.

I placed the new Arc, in the top drawer in his desk… I couldn't just bring it to him…and it couldn't just appear next to him…

A smile spread across my face as I got an idea.

"Jarvis?" I called my voice not nearly as loud or cheerful as usual.

"Yes Miss Penny?" the AI replied, also sounding tired.

'How does a computer sound tired?' I wondered silently as I said, "Call Rhodey for me, would you?"

"Right away Miss Penny." Jarvis replied, and a moment later, the call appeared on Tony's screen.

The phone rang a few times before the call connected and Rhodey's voice drifted through the computer speakers.

"Hello?" Rhodey said, sounding confused.

'He probably has caller ID, recognized Tony's number but knows that Tony isn't calling.' I reasoned to myself.

"Hey," I said, snapping out of my thoughts. "It's me."

I heard Rhodey sigh in relief and say, "It's good to hear from you."

'Hmm…probably not the only one in the room…' I thought.

"Is he up yet?" I asked, and I knew that Rhodey would know that I was talking about Tony.

"Yeah," He replied simply.

"Totally not alone." I muttered before saying louder, "Have an errand for you. Talk to Tony, see if you can _convince_ him to tell you where his _backup_ Arc is. Top drawer of his desk, in the lab. Left hand side."

"I'll see what I can do. Thank you for your concern." Rhodey said before hanging up.

"Pretty sure that was a 'Got it.'." I muttered to myself as I left the lab; my bracelet beeping. Someone was walking up my drive way.

* * *

**And done, not much action in this chapter… yeah. Hope you all enjoyed it, thanks everyone for everything, special thanks to Expecto Prongs for Beta'ing.**

**Cp**


	40. Still Playing(unbeta'd)

The Unknown Variable

**(Sorry for the wait, I just got back from camp..not as fun as i had hoped. Also, it was in the part of town that i DON't have service in..which sucked, and add in the fact that none of the cabins had electricity...yeah...****oh, and a random fact...it is awkward going to girl-scout camp when your NOT A GIRL SCOUT!)**

**If you think I own anything, you're loonier than Moldyshorts on a good day.**

* * *

After Flashing back to NM I made my Hologram walk into my Office, where I then replaced it.

Every morning I would program the hologram into the same outfit I was wearing, that way I could replace it any time and no one would be any wiser.

The doorbell had rung as soon as I left the office. I was quick to open the door, and spent the rest of the day at my neighbor's house, gossiping about what happened at the Stark Factory. It was agony. But I had nothing else to do, and it was funny, some of the theories everyone had cooked up.

It was slow, boring, and tedious, gossiping with the small town waiting for the press conference about the night before started. Not to mention, the names that the world had come up for Tony and I were idiotic.

I mean really? Iron Man and Electra? Seriously?

I was actually surprised that I was noticed, and proclaimed the good guy. A few random phone video's had captured my blurry image, and most of them involved me shooting lightning. Probably where they got the name from.

I sure hoped that Tony wouldn't mess this up….for both of our sakes.

* * *

Tony's POV

I worried about Penny, I mean sure, I knew she was fine since she had talked to Rhodes and made me a new Arc…which I was extremely grateful for. The old one had a short and having electricity shooting up your spine constantly is not pleasant.

But I was still worried about her, or rather, her new secret identity…Electra.

Not bad, if I did say so myself.

I tried to ignore Rhodey's voice coming from the Tv, and Pepper who was dabbing cover up over the small cuts that still littered my face.

"'Iron Man' that's kind of catchy." I commented randomly, scanning the articles in the morning paper. "Electra as well, they both got a nice ring to them." I added on at the end, feeling that I needed to make some comment about my daughter.

"I mean, it's not technically accurate. The suit's a gold-titanium alloy…" I scrunched up my nose as Pepper pulled off the butterfly bandage. "But, it's kind of evocative, the imagery anyway."

I glanced up as Agent Coulson appeared in front of me and made to pass me note cards.

"Here's your alibi." He stated I waited for a moment, to see if Pepper was going to take them for me, but she did not. So I folded up the paper and slowly took the note cards. I hated being handed things.

"Okay," I said slowly, wondering what the agency cooked up for me.

"You were on your yacht." He continued; I hadn't been on that thing in over a year… a bit flimsy in my mind.

"Yeah," I stated, trying to remember that.

"We have port papers that put you in Avalon all night." Couslon assured me, "And sworn statements from 50 of your guests."

I almost couldn't stop the eyebrow twitch. He made it sound like a party. I hadn't thrown a party since coming back from Afghanistan; I wasn't about to start now.

"See," I said, coming up with a quick comeback to mask my current feelings. "I was thinking maybe we should say it was just Pepper and me alone on the island.

Hey, you couldn't blame a man for trying. Personally, I'd rather take Penny on the yacht, since she had never been on it, but hey, couldn't say _that_ aloud. I owned an island for a reason after all.

Pepper pulled hard on the last baggage, clearing giving me a silent, 'no' as Coulson said,

"That's what happened."

"Alright," I relented, my mind elsewhere. Personally, I had no problem telling the world that I was Iron Man, but with Penny in the equation, even if most didn't know about her, changed things.

"Just read it, word for word." Coulson told me as I scanned the cards. "And, I hate to ask you again, Mr. Stark, but…"

With a roll of my eyes I cut him off, "For the last time, Agent Coulson. I have no idea who that girl, now deemed Electra, was…is…whatever."

Coulson eyed me for a moment. He and a few other agents had been bugging me about Penny all day. Personally, I don't know why they kept pushing.

They had no reason not to believe me, I was an excellent liar, if I do say so myself.

My eyebrows furrowed as I noticed one problem with the cover-up. "There's nothing about Stane here." I said darkly.

"That's being handled. He's on vacation, small aircraft have such a poor safely record." Coulson assured me, using the cover story.

"But what about the whole cover story that it's a bodyguard? He's my… I mean, it that… tha's kind of flimsy, don't you think?" I commented.

Actually, it wasn't flimsy; I was just extremely irritated with the story. The whole idea that I had made a huge metal body guard was absurd and fed the idea that I had PTSD and was insecure and paranoid. I was _not _happy with that at all.

"This isn't my first rodeo, Mr. Stark." Agent Coulson commented, and I could tell he knew the real reason behind my comment…or at least had some idea. "Just stick to the official statement, and soon, this will all be behind you."

'Another thing I don't like.' I thought to myself. 'This is my new life. I'm not going to put it behind me.'

"You've got, 90 seconds." Coulson said, looking at Pepper as I scanned the cards again…I had a choice to make…

"Oh," Pepper said as Coulson walked away, "Agent Coulson? I just wanted to say thank you very much for all of your help."

"That's what we do," Coulson said, and I glanced up to see both of them smiling at each other. I smashed down the itty tiny bit of jealousy that reared up and went back to my cards. "You'll be hearing from us."

"From the…Strategic Homeland…" Pepper said, trying to remember their insanely long name.

"Just call us SHIELD." Coulson said with a small before nodding and walking away.

"Right…" Pepper said before she turned to me and said. "Let's get this show on the road."

"You know," I stated, striding up next to her. "It's actually not that bad."

Pepper held up my jacket as I continued, "Even I don't think I'm Iron Man."

I still had no idea if I was going to go along with it or not…I really wanted to ask Penny for her thoughts on the matter, but she wasn't here. Sadly.

"You're not Iron Man." Pepper said as I slid the note cards into my mouth and shrugged the jacket on.

"Am so," I protested, a large grin appearing on my face. Oh, how I loved this little discussions.

"You're not!' Pepper repeated and I rolled my eyes.

"All right, suit yourself." I stated, pulling the cards out of my mouth and smoothing down the jacket.

"You know," I commented randomly, my brain spinning a million miles an hour, trying to find the right way to state this. "If I were Iron Man. I'd have this girlfriend who knew my true identity… She'd be a wreck, 'cause she'd always be worrying that I was going to die…"

Pepper spun me around and gave me an amused look, 'you were worried earlier.' I reasoned silently as I continued.

"Yet so proud of the man I'd become." I added, locking eyed with Pepper.

'Arg…that wasn't supposed to sound so cheesy…Penny has been rubbing off on me.' I thought to myself.

"She'd be wildly conflicted, which would only make her more…" I cleared my throat and chose a different set of words, "crazy about me."

"Tell me you never thing about that night." I stated, steering the conversation in a different direction.

"What night?" Pepper asked, though I could tell she knew what I was talking about.

"You know." I stated simply.

We stood there in silence for a moment before Pepper blinked and said, "Are you talking about the night that we danced, and went up on the roof…" She caused for a moment and I gave her a small grin. "and then you went downstairs to get me a drink,"

Her smile disappeared and her whole demeanor changed as she said, "and you left me there, by myself? If that the night you're talking about?"

My grin faded a bit, that totally backfired. "Hmhmm," I said, not sure what else to say. Pepper had totally derailed everything I had been planning to say…she had a tendency to do that.

It was one of the things that both she and Penny had in common.

"Thought so." Pepper stated, trying not to smile as she brushed off my jacket.

There was an awkward silence for a moment before Pepper said, "Will that be all, Mr. Stark."

Extremely glad that she gave me a way out of this, I replied, "Yes, that will be all, Ms. Potts."

It had been our game for years, and we both were still playing.

* * *

**Hehe, Pepper and Tony sitting in a tree…how they've survived all those years with that much sexual tension I have no idea. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it. Next chapter is the last one of Iron Man I, but don't worry. This Fic is far from over.**

**Thanks Expecto Prongs.  
Cp**


	41. Electra and Iron Man(unbeta'd)

The Unknown Variable

**Tony, Penny, and Mortem all support me in saying I own nothing.**

**Oh, I've been meaning to do this for some time.**

**I would like to dedicate this chapter to the 19 Granite Mountain Hot-Shots that died in the Yarnell Wild Fire. **

**Please take a moment of silence for these heroes who gave their lives to protect those who were endangered by the large, intense flames. They were true heroes.**

**(The Vise President even agreed. He came out and spoke at their memorial; along with about half of the county's Hot-Shots. Who came to support the community and uphold their memory)**

* * *

Penny's POV

"And now," Rhodey said from the large TV in my neighbor's living room. "Mr. Stark has prepared a statement. He will not be taking any questions. Thank you."

"Finally!" I muttered under my breath. This whole social gathering was really aggravating me. It had gotten on my nerves three hours ago.

If it wasn't for the free (and good) food, I would be long gone.

I sighed again and rubbed my temples as Tony walked across the stage and stood behind the podium. It was in the same room that the previous conference had been held in.

"Been a while since I was in front of you." Tony started and I frowned. I couldn't get a good look at his face to read his emotions…I had no clue what he was planning. "I figure I'll stick to the cards this time."

Tony waved the blue notecards for everyone to see before lowering them back down. 'Stick to the cards, as if. Stick to SHIELDS cover is more like it.' I thought to myself as Tony cleared his throat and continued.

"There's been some speculation that I was involved in the events that occurred on the freeway and the rooftop…"

"Speculation my ass. He was totally involved." A nineteen year old boy to my left sneered.

"Shut it." I snapped he glared at me before we both turned back towards the TV.

"…us to believe that that was a bodyguard in a suit that conveniently appeared, despite the fact that you…" a female reporter said off screen; though I recognized her from her voice as the last 'trash' that had been taken out.

"I know that it's confusing," Tony interrupted and a smile appeared on my face, Dad wasn't going to blow it…he was going along with whatever SHIELD's plan was. "It is one thing to question the official story, and another thing entirely to make wild accusations, or insinuate that I'm a superhero…"

I groaned, I couldn't help it; Dad had just fallen into the reporters trap…I had to wonder if he did it on purpose.

"Tony!" I groaned under my breath, but both the nineteen year old boy and the young intern for the scientists heard me.

Before the boy could speak, the early twenty year old girl stuck up for me.

"She used to work for him! Of-course she's annoyed!" The intern snapped.

The boy glared and turned back towards the TV.

I gave her a small smile before turning back to the conference. Tony had walked right into the trap and was now trying to save himself…

"Didn't? Well, good, because that would be outlandish and fantastic." Tony replied, trying to rebuild his poker face.

I shook my head; I had a feeling Tony was doing this on purpose. He was always great with the press; and now…he was acting like he had no clue what he was doing. I doubted that he was really that frazzled.

The people around me started muttering, gossip flew across the room faster than even my sparks could.

"I'm just not the hero type. Clearly." He continued and I muttered under my breath. "Totally deliberate."

"With this laundry list of character defects, all the mistakes I've made, largely public…" Tony was rambling now and it was most likely purposefully.

Rhodey leaned over and whispered something into Tony's ear. Probably tell him to stick to the cards.

Tony nodded and he seemed to reassure his friend. Tony rolled his eyes and looked back down at the cards; his eyes flickered to the camera for a moment as he said,

"The truth is…"

'Dad…don't you dare blow it!' I thought to myself, he was going to blow it. I just knew it.

"I am Iron Man." He said, and the press went wild. Question after question was thrown his way, and the conference only lasted another four minutes before Rhodey and Pepper dragged Tony off screen.

The questions included,

"How did you make the armor?"

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Who is Electra? A secret lover?"

"Does the government know about your involvement?"

"What happened to Stane?"

"When is your next party?"

"Will you be resuming the weapons manufacturing?"

To name a few of them, that is.

Tony only replied to one, and I was glad that he managed to state it before they dragged him away.

"I have no idea who the woman known as Electra is. But she has my thanks." Tony was then instantly pulled out of sight by a furious Pepper.

The whole house, and townspeople within, exploded with the news. I looked around as everyone tried to get my opinion on the matter, seeing as how I knew Tony.

I sighed; I was going be here for a while.

* * *

I spotted the intern who had been sitting next to me and hurried over.

"Hey Darcy!" I said with a small smile. "I just wanted to thank you for sticking up for me back there."

The older girl laughed, and slung her arm across my shoulders. "Anything for you, Pen. When are you going to come work for us? Hmm?"

I rolled my eyes; both her and her two bosses had been bugging me ever since I moved here.

"I'm already a consultant. I'm not looking for a job. At least, not until after my dissertations are done."

"Workaholic!" Darcy cried, and gave me a playful shove.

"I think you have me confused with your boss." I replied with an eye roll.

"Whatever, sourpuss." The girl in her lower twenties replied.

I sighed, shaking my head. Noticing that no one was paying any attention I turned back to Darcy and said quietly, "I'm gonna sneak out now, while no one is looking. Say hi to Jane and Selvig for me, will yah?"

Darcy nodded, an amused smile on her face. "Got it, I'll tell them you said hi, but were too scared of the crowd to stick around."

I sighed; Darcy just loved to get on my nerves. But as one of my only friends in town…or period actually, I let it slide.

"Bye." I said curtly and started making my way towards the exit.

"See yah around!" Darcy called with a wave before being swallowed up by the crowd.

"Yeah, whatever." I sighed to myself. I had a bone to pick with Dad…but first, I needed a shower. I still smelled like ash and smoke.

* * *

I wrapped my hair up in a towel as I stepped out of the shower. It felt nice to get clean. Truthfully, I had forgotten about showering the night before, and had been regretting it at the party.

I walked past the sink and hanging mirror as I reached for my clothes hanging on the door. But something I saw out of the corner of my eye caused me to freeze.

My eyebrows furrowed as I peered into the mirror at my Core, or more importantly, the skin around it.

The skin surrounding my Arc was a pale grey; it was pealing slightly, like skin on a bad burn. However, that wasn't what was worrying.

The small, inch long black lines that were coming from the Arc, zigzagging across my skin was my main concern.

"Shit," I said to myself as I poked the pale skin, causing pain to flare up in my chest.

"This can't be good."

* * *

Tony's POV

I walked into my dark house, Happy just dropping me off. Pepper and Rhodey had been yelling at me for hours about the whole 'I am Iron Man' thing.

Then, I got hungry. So we went out to dinner. In San Francisco. Hey, what can I say? I was bored.

"Jarvis?" I called, wondering why the lights hadn't come on. My paranoia kicked in, the last time Jarvis didn't work Stane crashed him.

If he wasn't working, then something was wrong.

"Welc…ome ho…me siii….iir…" Jarvis's late, jumbled, and abnormally deep voiced reply echoed through the house.

He had been hacked again.

'Damn, Pen and I have got to fix that!' I thought to myself.

I slowed down as I spotted a dark figure standing by my repaired windows in the living room.

" "I am Iron Man." You think you're the only superhero in the world?" The man asked his voice deep and serious. He slowly turned around, his long trench coat giving him an intimidating appearance.

"Mr. Stark, you've become part of a bigger universe. You just don't know it yet."

I slowly walked into the living room, and although I knew it was silly and absurd, this was feeling eerily similar to the movie, Matrix.

"Who the hell are you?" I asked, wondering how a loon like this got in my house. I was thankful Penny still hadn't shown…okay, I was really worried…but still.

The man walked into the light, revealing a dark skinned man with a goatee and eye patch. Ok, the eye patch and the trench cloak make him look intimidating.

"Nick Fury," He said, "Director of SHIELD."

'Huh, so that really did catch on. I'll have to tell Penny.' I thought to myself. Penny had told me the story behind the acronym and I personally thought that it was brilliant.

"Oh," I replied in response to cover my thoughts.

"I'm here to talk to you about the Avenger Initiative." Nick Fury stated.

'What the hell is that?' I wondered silently.

Sometime later, I would wish that I never had heard of it.

* * *

**Hey y'all. Yes, Tony admitted to being Iron Man, no, no one knows Penny is involved. Yes, Rhodes now knows about Penny. Stane is now dead. You all can now guess where Penny is living huh? (I finally decided to make to obvious. How many of you guessed **_**that**_** before?) Yeah, Fury is still interested in Tony. And yup, Penny's Palladium poisoning sets in earlier than Tony's .**

**It makes sense. She's had her Arc longer then he has. (Yeah, her powers were keeping the poisoning at bay. Death…or Mortem, which ever name you prefer, might have also had something to do with it. ;)**

**Thanks to all of you wonderful people. **

**Iron Man I is done. But the story has just begun. (oohhh …an almost rhyme! Yeah, I'm hyper because I'm sleep deprived. And sick, can't forget that!)**

**Thanks Expecto Prongs,  
Cp**


	42. Getting the Confessions(unbeta'd)

The Unknown Variable

**I, swear on the reality of Marvel, that I never have, and never will, own Marvel, Disney, or HP.**

* * *

I sighed as I spun around in Tony's chair. The past month had been… interesting to say the least. After Tony ousted himself as Iron Man, the press had been digging into Tony's life with a renewed interest.

Sadly, that meant that we had to be even _more_ careful; which was really annoying.

It wasn't just the press that was digging around. The whole town in New Mexico had taken a keen (to say the least) interest in me.

I now had at least two people showing up on my doorsteps every day. The town's teens wanted to be my friends, the kids wanted me to be their idol or something, and every adult in town wanted to be my mentor.

It. Was. Insane.

It had gotten to the point that I had to do _something_ to get some peace and quiet.

So, with Tony's help, I totally mechanicalized my whole house. It had taken over two weeks, but it had been worth it.

Now the holograms were less like holograms and more like an AI, though not as specialized as Jarvis.

It was an independent system that would make the hologram as realistic as possible. Every door hinge had been electronicalized, the fridge could open by itself, the sink could turn on and off, chairs could move across the floor. The TV, radio, lights, and every other electronic were now completely operable to the AI.

The Hologram could live in the house, and I wouldn't have to do anything.

Except meet people in the real world when they invited me to places; but, as long as no one tried to get the AI hologram to leave the house, it was a masterpiece.

I could also monitor the AI's actions through my Tablet, and direct what it did; laundry, showering, watching TV, working on my 'dissertations' anything, it made it possible.

Although, the AI wasn't physically touching anything, I had rigged the house so it would appear that it would.

Personally, I thought it was brilliant and I should get an award for it. But sadly, that would require me to blow the whole scam anyway…not gonna happen.

I was almost, _almost_ done with my dissertations. For some reason, they had just been really hard to write, the normal drama in a Stark's life also didn't help.

Tony and I had also gotten closer in the past month. With Rhodey now in on our little secret, I could go places with Tony, as long as Rhodey was there to keep the cover, but it felt nice to get out of the house with my father.

Rhodey tried to come over at least twice a week, if not more, to hang out with me and my father. I think I have been growing on him, or something.

Anyway, Rhodey was now my surrogate uncle. Sort of like how Dr. Millod had been.

Oh, don't worry; I hadn't forgotten about what happened. In fact, that was one of the first things I did after the fight.

* * *

two days after the fight with Stane

_I screamed out in frustration and pain as I threw the wrench at the wall. My face was covered in dried tears and my eyes were red from crying._

_Tony wasn't here, Pepper had dragged him out some hours ago…I couldn't remember why, but I didn't care._

"_WHY!" I screamed as I threw another wrench at the lab wall. The resulting bang and clatter did nothing to make me feel better._

_It was if someone had stabbed a hole in the middle of my heart…it just hurt…so much!_

"_WHY the BLOODY HELL did HE HAVE TO DO THAT!" I yelled continuing to throw various tools at the wall._

"_HE ORDERED THEM TO DIE! WHY! WHY DID HE DO THAT! SURE, HE WAS A BLOODY SYCO BUT STILL!" _

"_ARG!" I screamed as I flipped over a table, causing Tony's paper work and other stuff to go flying._

"_Miss Penny, do try to calm…" Jarivs started to say but I interrupted him, sending a tearful glare at the ceiling._

"_Don't you DARE tell me to calm down!" I yelled at the AI that was practically my brother._

"_He killed them…all of them…they're gone…" I choked back a sob before I burst back into tears, collapsing on the floor by Tony's upturned desk._

"_They're gone…" I whispered to myself as the words finally sunk in. Stane might have ordered the shot, but the people who actually did it were still alive…_

"_They are gonna pay!" I hissed as I stood up, my newfound fury hiding my pain. _

"_Jarvis!" I shouted, stepping onto the pad. "Suit me up!"_

"_Miss Penny…I don't believe that in your current…" The AI said, trying to stop me from doing anything stupid._

"_Jarvis, just do it." I ordered as the floor moved and the numerous arms dressed me in my outfit…that was still damaged from the fight with Stane. I hadn't bothered to clean it up yet._

"_Oh, and Jar." I said as the hood fell over my face and the HUD lit up. "Not a word to my father."_

_Then I walked over to the hole in the roof and Flashed away._

_I had some criminals to catch._

* * *

_I rolled my eyes at the pathetic firewalls the police had. I mean seriously, even a low level hacker would be able to tear them down in a second._

_Not to mention that I was not a low level hacker._

_My suit blended in with the shadows as I hijacked the Sheriff's hard-drive. They had no leads in Ashley's case. They had two suspects, but with no evidence, unless they confessed, they walked free._

_I would not allow that._

_Writing down the two addresses of the suspects, I then erased my presence in the system, before I Flashed over the hospital._

_I had some surveillance feeds to steal._

* * *

_The surveillance videos were a bit harder to hack into…like…two percent harder. I rolled my eyes at the world's lacking security. Seriously, no wonder SHIELD could find anything out about anyone… it wasn't exactly hard._

_Bringing up the feed from the Ward a few days ago, I scanned the crowd, looking for the men that Dr. Millod had described to me._

_A smile spread across my face as I watched the men talk to numerous nurses, and Dr. Millod, just like he said._

"_Got you." I whispered as I froze the frame exactly at the same time both men glanced at the hidden camera._

_Blowing up the frame, and enhancing the photo took a moment, but I soon had a very clear picture of their faces._

"_Well boys," I said studying their faces. "Time for a little…get together." _

_Picturing the larger man's face in my mind, I wiped my actions from the database and quickly exited the hospital unnoticed._

_Clearing bringing up his face in my mind, I flashed away. Time to get these men behind bars._

* * *

_I was actually surprised, not only had the Sheriff's suspects been the two men who actually killed Ashley and her family, but it was extremely easy to get them to confess. I hadn't even needed to 'order' them to with my sparks._

_I had found them exiting a bar, a town away from the hospital I had grown up in, and after dragging the drunken men into an alley they quickly spilled the beans._

"_Don't know what you're talkin' 'bout lady!" the first man, the larger one, who had way too much to drink said._

"_Oh," I replied coldly, "I'm sure you do. You killed that nurse, and her family. You were hired, and now, you will be going to jail."_

_The younger of the two men, who was in his early twenties, spoke up clearly scared of me. "We didn't want to do it! But our families man! We needed the money!"_

"_Who hired you?" I asked, pretending I didn't know. If they did know it was Stane, which I doubted, then it could cause some complications._

"_Look man," the younger one said, as the other one tried to shut him up. "We were hired, but I have no clue who was on the other line! I swear! I didn't want to hurt her…" _

"_Shut it!" The drunken man hissed, pulling out a gun. "You talk too much, you yella' bellied rookie!"_

_I stared at the pistol, as Jarvis pulled up a lot of information on the screen. "You think that'll stop me? You must be pretty naive." _

_The older, drunken man pushed his buddy to the ground as he turned off the safety. _

"_You're the one who's naive lady!" he sneered, smelling strongly of whiskey. "You think that pathetic get up scares us?" _

_I rolled my eyes although he couldn't see the action. Man, these guys were idiots… perhaps it was just because he was drunk?_

_With a swift kick, I sent his gun flying out of his hand. I dodged his fist as I pulled his feet out from underneath him. With a well-placed kick to the head, the drunken man was knocked out cold._

_I heard a loud crash behind me and turned to see the other man fleeing the ally._

"_Idiots." I muttered, Flashing in front of the murderer. _

"_Holy Shit!" he cried as I appeared in front of him. With another kick to the head with my boots, the murderer dropped to the ground, a large bump appearing on his head._

_Rolling my eyes I dragged the younger man over to his companion before I Flashed over to the police station and dropped them in a holding cell._

_I wrote a quick note, and taped the small recorder that I had taken from the Lab to the wall by the cell. _

_**You needed a confession. Here it is.  
A friend**_

_I smirked as I exited the station and Flashed away. Revenge was sweet._

* * *

Having the two men behind bars hadn't made the pain of losing Ashley and Dr. Millod any less painful. But it helped ease my mind knowing that justice had been served.

I cringed as I remembered the conversation that Tony and I had had afterwards. Apparently, Tony had showed up right after I left, and instead of Jarvis telling him…he found a loophole…video footage of my tantrum.

Let's just say that the talk lasted for five hours and I cried hysterically half the time.

Thankfully, with Tony discovering what happened, he transferred half of Stane's frozen assets towards Ashley's mother, who was living in a nursing home, and the other half to the hospital. He was careful to cover his tracks, so that no one could trace it back to him, and I was glad that something had been done to help.

The world wasn't perfect, and we couldn't fix everything. That was something I learned that day, but we could still try to make it a better place.

* * *

**That took longer than I thought. But hey, she got them locked up! There are going to quite a few filter chapters that cover everything that happens in the six months between movies.**

**I will be mentioning this later as well, but just a heads up. While I own Iron Man II, it's on my Kindle, and I discovered that my Kindle can't do subtitles… so I'll do the best I can on keeping the important scenes accurate…like I was doing here. If that makes any sense.**

**Anyway, thanks to you all. Oh, and Guest reviewers, if you want to yell at me then at least leave some way for me to reply. I am in full support of criticism, and everyone has their own view and opinion, but yelling and bashing just to yell and bash is inappropriate. Especially when every other word is a curse.**

**Thanks to Expecto Prongs,  
Cp**


	43. Of Sisters, Hel, and Violins(unbeta'd)

The Unknown Variable

**If anyone says that I own something I do not, I shall tell Thor to smite you. After all, he's quiet fond of young Penny.**

* * *

Our father-daughter relationship wasn't the only one that had been flourishing in the past two months.

Mortem and I had also been getting closer. At times…okay, a lot of times, it was weird for me to think that the boy…man…whatever…that was my close friend was actually Death.

I hated to admit it…but I think I was starting to get a crush on him. He was always there…unless Tony was.

He tended to avoid my father, and personally I found that funny. It wasn't like Dad could see him; I still wasn't sure how _I _could see him. Another mystery with no answer; at least not one I could know.

I had so many questions about so many things, yet Mortem wasn't allowed to answer any of them…at least not out right.

I had learned not to ask about why he was always with me, or why I could see him. I also knew not to push him about why he would suddenly disappear or how he would come back and rant…or tried to. No sound every came from his mouth.

But Mortem had stayed with me. Every nightmare that I had, I would awake in his arms. Any flashback that would sneak up on me, he would slowly push away. He wouldn't keep them away completely, like he did in the cave. He claimed that it wasn't healthy to just shove them to the back of my mind. I would need to deal with them, or they could just get worse.

I believed him, but that didn't help my sleepless nights.

It was he who I confided in when I realized what was happening with my Core. Poisoning. Slow, agonizing poison was slowly creeping into my system.

He had held me as I sobbed, realizing after Jarvis' last scan that after everything, every struggle, every fight, every challenge I had overcome with my health was for nothing. I was still dying.

He couldn't answer when I asked why this was happening, or if there was anything he could do, being Death and all…but I knew he cared. I saw the pain in his eyes as he held his tongue; and it was in that moment that I realized that he cared…

It was weird…ok, it was really weird. With him being Death and all…but I swear, I knew what I saw.

Ever since I had discovered the poisoning, and realized that it was the Palladium, I had been sleeping less. Even Tony noticed, although I tried my best to hide it.

I barely stayed in the house in NM now, spending almost every night in Malibu. After I had submitted my dissertations, I finally agreed to take a small job working for Dr. Foster, twice a week and only for a few hours.

Jane was disappointed, but with my hidden account from Tony that he refilled every month, I was quiet well off.

One night, about a week before, I had awoken to find that I was no longer alone in my hidden room. I had panicked for a microsecond before I realized that the intruder was talking to Mortem, and it looked like he knew her; even if they were arguing.

I watched the white haired girl argue silently with Mortem for a few minutes before her golden eyes found mind and I winced at being caught.

The white haired girl gave a silent sigh before hugging Mortem and vanishing straight into the ground.

I had blinked, surprised. My eyebrows knitted together as I evaluated the scene I had awoken too.

The two of them had clearly known each other well, if their silent argument was anything to go by. I had spotted concern and care in the girl's golden eyes. Looking at Mortem, I noticed that he seemed tired, as if the fight had worn him out. It was strange. I had never seen him fatigued before.

"Who was she?" I asked, but Mortem just shook his head. I recognized the look on his face; he wasn't allowed to tell me.

I brought the memory to the forefront of my mind and narrowed my eyes in thought. I had been getting quiet good at getting solving the mysteries that floated around my friend. Literally.

My eyes widened as I saw a resemblance between the two, he was darker, she was lighter, but beyond that, their facial structure was extremely similar. They were the same height, and used the same hand gestures with their words; even if they weren't signing.

"What that your sister?" I asked, and the slight shift in his eyes, and the warmth that flooded them confirmed my thought. "Is she an Entity like you?" I asked, although I knew it was an idiotic question. She probably was.

Another slight shift of the eyes, yes then.

My lips pursed as I brought her features back to my mind, trying to see if I could guess what she represented.

White hair braided with flowers, gold eyes, tanned skin, bright green dress and a soft smile that I had seen a glance of as she disappeared…right into the earth.

"I'm guessing either Nature…or Life." I stated, and carefully I studied his face. The small, concealed smile and shifting of the eyes at the second one confirmed it.

"Life it is then." I stated as Mortem rolled his eyes. This had become a bit of a game for us. I usually only won when Mortem let me. He had an excellent poker face when he wanted to be.

"Can I get a name?" I asked, he would have to verbally answer this one, and I knew there was a large chance he could not. So I was surprised when he sighed and said,

Vitam

I raised my eyebrow slightly at her name but nodded, I guess all Entities or whatever they were had strange names.

A few nights later, I brought up the argument again. Mortem had made it really clear that he couldn't tell me what the argument was about, but I wasn't asking about the argument anymore.

I was asking about entities, gods, and legends.

I threw question after question at him, asking him if this was real, or that…only to get a sad look in return.

I sighed, and was about to give up when the air around my bed seemed to warp, and a box, neatly wrapped in black fabric and tied with a red bow fell onto my bed.

I raised an eyebrow at Mortem in silent question but he just shrugged.

A letter written on grey paper slowly drifted down on top of the box before the warped air returned to normal.

After casting another look at Mortem, and when he didn't move to stop me from picking up the letter, I assumed that he knew who it was from.

_My friend,_

_It has been quite a while since we have talked. You are most likely confused but no worries, I mean you no harm. I am just returning something that belongs to you. You won it from me long ago, and it still belongs to you. I have held onto it for you long enough._

_I do hope you are well, and hope you visit me soon.  
Hel _

"Hell?" I repeated, wondering how that was a name. However the name also sounded strangely familiar…I just couldn't put my finger one it.

Shrugging, and deciding to look it up later, I slowly put down the note and carefully opened the wooden box.

The cloth that wrapped the box was a soft black silk of some kind, though I didn't recognize the material.

The box was engraved with numerous runes, and I instantly knew that normally, the box itself would be a priceless artifact.

However, when I opened the box, my eyes widened in shock and I was surprised that I had not fainted.

The box was lined in a dark red velvet, but that wasn't what surprised me, it was the dark, solid gold violin that left me breathless.

"This can't me mine," I exclaimed softly, "I don't even know how to play!"

I had never been too interested in music when I was younger, I loved to listen to it, but playing was never my forte, to the disappointment of my mother.

I had learned how to play the piano when I was nine, but had quickly grown bored of the instrument.

It is yours. Mortem signed a small smile appearing on his face, pick it up, try it out.

"But I don't know how to play!" I repeated as I slowly lifted the violin out of the box at Mortem's look.

The Violin was light, which surprised me; it was a darker color of gold. Everything was gold, from the body to the strings and neck pad…thing.

The bow was heavily detailed, carved with runes and glittering in the light.

With slight hesitation I placed the violin beneath my chin and raised the bow. I froze, this was stupid. I had no clue what I was doing.

You can do it. Mortem stated, a smile on his face and his grey eyes glittering. His eyes usually stayed silver around me. I only saw them revert to black when he was angry.

I closed my eyes and brought the bow down to the strings. My eyes snapped open with shock as a strong clear note filled the air.

Glancing down, I noticed my fingers were no longer just hold the violin, they had moved, and was now holding a cord. Which one I had no clue.

At Mortem's motion to continue I continued to play, and was shocked that not once did the notes sound anything less than perfect.

Soon, the movements all became second nature to me, and before I knew what I was doing, a song filled the air.

The sound of Mortem clapping drew me back to reality and I froze in shock. I had no clue what on earth just happened.

Seeing my completely bamboozled and close to hysteria look, Mortem wrapped one arm around me and signed,

Some things, you can just never forget.

His answer gave me more questions than answers.

For one, I had never learned how to play, so how could I forget. Second, how on earth did he know that?

Also, another thing, I turned towards the entity and said, "Who the hell is Hel."

Yes, I did the pun on purpose.

* * *

**Hehe…yeah I had been listing to "The devil went down to Georgia" a lot and this little plot bunny wouldn't leave me alone. (Also with the whole reading his face thing, I've been watching A LOT of "Lie to Me" you get a cyber-cookie if you know what that is! God, I love that show!) It is a good way to introduce the Asgardians/****ᴁ****sir and stuff…also an excuse for Mortem to… 'teach'…her about the Gods.**

***wink wink* It has nothing to do with Thor showing up…none at all…hehe ;)**

**Well, hope you enjoyed it. She'll find out more about Hel (not Hela, I looked it up!) next chpt.**

**Hope you all enjoyed it, even if it was a bit shorter than usual.**

**Thanks to Expecto Prongs  
Cp**


	44. Emotional Roller-Coaster (unbeta'd)

The Unknown Variable

**(oh...I love this chapter!)  
Hey ya'll. If you still believe after all this time that I own what Disney, Marvel, and JK Rowling/Warner Bros. have claim too…then I am fully willing to sic Hel, Fati, Mortem, and Loki onto you.**

* * *

I still couldn't believe it.

Not only was Hel, the Norse Goddess of Death … or something similar, who reined over the realm of Hell… real, but apparently she thought I was her friend.

I wasn't going to deny that…who would want to piss off a Goddess? Not me, but still. It was an interesting shock.

A few days after the Violin appeared, Mortem brought back with him a whole stack of old books, with the most 'accurate' of the Norse myths; according to him anyway.

I had been reading the myths nonstop, considering that it was the only part of Mortem's world I was allowed to know about.

I had also visited Bruce a few times over the past few months. He was always in a different place, and he was always surprised to see me. Really, I thought that he'd get used to it by now.

Anytime Hulk was up when I was there, we just ended up playing games like hide and seek and stuff till he calmed down. He had become extremely overprotective of me. Just what I needed, someone else with stubbornness issues determined to keep me safe.

Speaking of Dad, Tony had been out a lot lately. He had really taken the whole 'I'm gonna change the world' seriously.

Sadly, it meant that I worried about him more, and for once I sympathized with Pepper. She was the one who everyone bugged about Tony. However, she was also the one who could check in on him without having to be super careful.

Rhodey came by on the days that Dad was off being Iron Man, he tried to help me…and part of me was mad that Tony was so caught up in being a super hero.

Thankfully…or not so much, Dad being gone all the time meant that when he got back, after I made sure he really was fine, we would spend days on end together.

Movie nights, pranks, projects, and just good times were constant when Tony was home.

When he wasn't, Mortem and I sparred, I would play the Violin that Hel had given…back?...to me, and we would just…enjoy life.

The day that the email came in, saying that I was now a graduate, Tony wasn't home. But Mortem was…that day something changed, it was small. But it changed everything…forever.

* * *

a week before, three months after Stane

_I sighed as I twirled a pen in-between my fingers. Mortem shifted next to me, my Tablet in his hands._

_He had been horrified when he realized I had like…no knowledge about music. So, for the past week, any spare moment, Mortem would fill with different songs, successful ones, pitiful ones; ones that I ended up liking, ones that I despised, and ones that I thought just made no sense._

_Who knew that there was so much selection in the world?_

_My attention was drawn away from the M&M (or Eminem which ever you prefer) song that was blaring through the speakers as a soft ding interrupted the song._

"_Give it here." I stated, wanted to see who had emailed me. Not many people ever did. I had a different ring for the Worm, and other programs, so I knew it wasn't them._

_Mortem sighed, but he paused the song and passed it over._

_Rolling my eyes at his attempts to 'educate me' in the music culture I pulled up my email. Raising my eyebrow seeing that I had gotten a new email from the Director of MIT I opened the email._

_My eyes widened and I dropped the Tablet to the floor and started bouncing on my bed, a large smile on my face._

"_Yes!" I cried as I jumped, Mortem was thrown into the air but quickly stood up and looked at me in confusion as I continued to jump and cheer in joy._

_I couldn't stop grinning I just couldn't believe it! Oh, this was sooooo awesome._

_What?__ I saw Mortem ask and before I knew it I had jumped onto the floor and spun around my room as I explained._

"_Oh, Mortem! I'm so happy! It was all so confusing when I saw the email, I mean. He never emails me. But oh! It's so exciting. I mean, sure I was sure it would happen but still! Oh, I can't believe it! I'm just so Happ…"_

_I'm not sure what happened, Mortem just appeared in front of me and the next thing I knew my lips were on his._

_My eyes widened as I snapped back to reality and pulled away._

_I had kissed him…I kissed __**death**__! _

"_Oh… God M…Mortem…I'm so sorry…I…" I stumbled, trying to hide my blush as I stared at the ground._

'_Oh God, what on earth did I just do?' I asked myself, horrified._

_Fear gripped my heart as my brain brought up crazy scenarios._

'_Oh, he's going to hate me now! It was such a good moment too…oh but now it's ruined. I ruined it…he's going to leave and never come back!' I thought to myself, throwing myself deeper and deeper into the dark pit. 'I mean seriously, he's __**death**__! I'm just a stupid mortal…'_

_I snapped out of my depressing thoughts as Mortem lifted my chin up and stared into my eyes._

_My eyebrows furrowed as I noticed an identifiable emotion in the silvery eyes._

_Don't be__ he signed, his face soft. He leaned in and pressed his lips to my forehead softly before backing away and signing, _

_Now, what's got you so excited?_

_Swallowing all the nervousness, a small smile appeared back on my face as I said flippantly, "Oh…nothing…I'm just getting my diplomas…"_

_I squealed as Mortem picked me up and spun around, my eyes widened in surprise at the action but then I noticed that he seemed just as happy for me as I was._

_He set me down and for just a second, both of us were frozen, nose to nose, before his lips touched mine._

_I returned the kiss until he pulled back, and with a large grin on his face he signed, _

_I'm proud of you, my dear. __A smirk appeared on his face as he continued; __I know just how to celebrate._

_It was only then, that I realized that I had just had my first kiss._

* * *

Apparently, Mortem's idea of a celebration was three large tubs of ice cream, six cans of whipped cream, chocolate sauce, and an enormous pile of candy.

I had such a sugar high by the time Tony got home that night…it wasn't funny. Tony and I both got great blackmail for each other that night…but I did learn one thing. Whipped cream is killer to get out of your hair.

When Tony discovered just what had caused me to get high off of sugar (well, the reason I _could_ tell him about…I couldn't really tell him that I was dating Death now, could I?) he placed a call to the Director, (who he knew well) and the next day we both flew out to Massachusetts and the Director gave me the diplomas' in person.

He was thrilled that his best student (his words, not mine) was the secret daughter of Tony Stark.

He understood the need for secrecy, especially now that my dad was a superhero, and promised that not a word would leave his lips about the matter.

He kept the diplomas under my Telnets name, but he promised that the moment the news came out, and he was certain it would eventually, that he would switch it over to my real name.

I wasn't too comfortable with telling the director until I discovered that Tony had Jarvis hack into his main frame and keep an eye on him. Just in case.

* * *

A few days later, when my diplomas 'came in the mail' (a cover the three of us had agreed on) I smirked and after getting a ride from my neighbor Mrs. Hyln and her kids, I skipped into Darcy and Jane's office.

"Penny?" Darcy said being the first one to notice me. "What are you doing here?"

I smirked and waved the orange envelope around. "Oh, nothing. It's not like anything you might be interested in came in the mail…"

A smile broke across Darcy's face as she reached in and pulled out the diplomas. (That I had slid into the empty envelope.)

Jane, seeing the commotion, walked over and when she spotted the certificates smiled brightly.

"Congratulations Penny, you deserve it!" Jane cheered, throwing her arm around my shoulders.

"What's going on in here? There are algorithms that need to be run. Telnets? What are you doing here? You don't work until tomorrow." Dr. Selvig exclaimed as he entered the room.

Darcy rolled her eyes at the elder man and replied, "You have to be nicer to her now she has two more Dr.'s under her name."

The doctor's eyes widened and a small smile appeared on his face as he said, "Diploma's came, did they?"

I nodded and Jane passed the papers over to her colleague.

He stared at the papers for a moment before a grin appeared on his face and he said, "Well, this calls for a celebration. Come one. Dinner's on me."

I almost groaned, I didn't _need_ to celebrate anymore. Tony had been showering me in gifts and surprises for the past few days. But still, it was okay to feed your ego from time to time…right?

* * *

By the end of the night the whole town knew about it. After dinner, Mrs. Hyln threw a party at her house, and most of the town showed up.

By nine, I was dead tired and really wanted to go home. But I couldn't just ditch them…they were doing it for me. It was the least I could do, putting on a fake smile and celebrated with everyone else.

It also didn't help that Jane had ruined the night, by asking a question that I had been avoiding.

"Are you planning on going into anything else in the coming years?" She commented, before trying to convince me to go into astrophysics.

Of-course, originally, I was contemplating going into a deeper part of physics, but now that I was slowly dying…yeah. That totally messed up the rest of the night.

The party actually turned around a bit once everyone went outside and the party slowed down.

Mrs. Hyln had a nice patio and desert garden surrounding a large, nicely kept swimming pool.

I stayed away from that pool, just looking at the body of water sent shivers down my spine.

I left the instant people started jumping in; there was no way I was swimming or getting thrown in. The last thing I needed was to have a panic attack in front of the whole town.

"Where are you going?" Selvig asked a beer in hand as he leaned against the fence.

I sighed and spared him a glance before I continued passed him.

"Home, I'm not a big fan of water." I stated coldly as Selvig followed me through the gate and towards my house.

"Any specific reason?" He asked taking a swing from the brown bottle.

I rolled my eyes, really, why couldn't I just go home to my father and new boyfriend?

Selvig was still following me as I walked up my drive way and slid the key into the lock.

"Does it have something to do with what happened overseas?"

My eyebrow twitched as I turned back around and glared at him, before slamming the door in his face.

I swear I heard him say, "Thought so," before walking away.

It was none of his business anyway. He better stay out of it.

'Well,' I thought to myself as I turned back on the HAI (Holographic Artificial Intelligence) and left 'There goes my night.'

* * *

**Hey, hope I did a good job with this chapter… wasn't too sure how it turned out. I was so tempted to name this chapter "I Kissed Death!" but I thought that it would give away too much…but it would be hilarious!**

**Is that a little foreshadowing I see up there? Well, I'm not telling! Hehe, well, there yeah go!**

**I know the topic of Penny's poisoning hasn't been brought up much, but I've got a plan… it'll be talked more about in the following chapters.**

**To the Guest Reviewer Fluffy, I have no clue what that is so no, it was not intentional. **

**THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO "MISS NAILIA" FOR KNOWING THE SHOW, LIE TO ME! HAVE A CYBER COOKIE THE SIZE OF THE MOON!  
**

**Cp**


	45. Above My Level(unbeta'd)

The Unknown Variable

**Oi, you, yes you right there! I know you still think I own something! But I don't so scat before I sue you!**

**;)**

* * *

I still couldn't believe it…four months. It had been four months since the fight with Stane, and nine since Tony and I had met.

I still couldn't believe it.

I doubted I ever truly would. Sometimes, it all seemed so surreal that I expected to just wake up and still be strapped to my wired in the hospital.

It had been over a year since I created my first Core…I hadn't even noticed the anniversary had gone by until a sharp pain coming from my Core caused me to collapse.

I hadn't thought about the poisoning very much since I had discovered it. The original algorithm I had ran estimated, that I probably had about a year or so before I…went terminal.

However, since I had collapsed a few days ago… and noticed that the lines scattering my chest had doubled in size in the past few months, I reran the tests, and after doing my own medical diagnostic, I estimated I had about four months… unless it accelerated, then I could have less.

I wasn't sure and not for the first time I wished that Dr. Millod was still alive…or that I could talk to Tony.

However, how on earth was I supposed to tell my Dad that I was dying? It was like telling him I was his daughter all over again, although this time, there would be no happy outcome.

Mortem was worried I was becoming depressed, and he tried his best to keep me happy and cheerful. It worked well enough when he or Tony was around. But those random few hours where neither of them were there were always hard.

The violin helped, I had given up trying to solve that mystery long ago. It was simply not worth dwelling on.

Too bad I couldn't convince myself that nether was dying…I wished myself luck on that.

* * *

I grinned softly as I watched Dad walk into the lab with Rhodey following him. Between the two men, Dummy, and Butterfingers, there were seventeen bags of food being carried in from Happy's car.

Dad had been gone for four days this time, and this was his way of making it up.

Rhodey didn't stick around, he just dropped the bags onto the kitchen counter and after giving me a hug and patting Tony on the back he left.

"What'd yah get?" I asked, as I walked up to the sea of plastic bags.

A tired grin spread across Dad's face as he started pulling out every kind of goody you could think of.

"Well, there's blackberries, smoothies, ice cream, peaches, twizlers, skittles, pringles, chocolate fondue…." The list seemed to go on and on, and I started to wonder if Tony bought the whole store. That might have been better. "…prime ribs, T-Bones, snicker-doodles, chocolate éclairs…"

Oh yeah, that was another thing. Nothing appeared to be in order. Everything was random, one second Tony would pull out stake, and the next candy…there was a very large variety.

"I've also got pancakes, crab cakes, mangos, tuna salad, lobsters, kiwis, snap peas, tacos, blueberries…" Tony continued the large, random mixed variety of food.

"I'm deathly allergic to blueberries." I commented, cutting Dad off.

Tony froze the blueberries in hand before looking towards me and smiling lightly. "Your mother was as well."

* * *

Later that night, after we had feasted until we were nauseous, we were both on the couch watching the Matrix Trilogy.

About halfway through Matrix Reloaded Dad pulled off his button up he had on, leaving him only in his white tank top.

That wasn't what surprised me. No…it was what hit me…the moment that my eyes fell upon Tony's Arc sitting in the center of his chest.

'Shit…' I thought to myself. I wasn't the only one with a Palladium Core, and I was an idiot to forget that fact. Thinking about my own poisoning, Tony had about a six, seven months before the symptoms would appear, and if my own progress was anything to go by, a year to live.

But there was no way that I was letting Tony die… even if I did. No, I swore to myself that I would find a solution. If not for my sake, then for my father's,

* * *

Tony was around for a week this time before he was called off somewhere.

Since he was gone, Mortem and I went out to the movies…in Albuquerque I Flashed there…he did his whole…disappear into shadows thing. I still hadn't come up with a name for it. I had asked Mortem what he called it…but he had just looked at me weirdly before laughing and told me to come up with a name. I had to roll my eyes at my new boyfriend.

Tony had gotten me the driver's ed. manual, but I hadn't even opened it. I mean, if I was going to die around my sixteenth birthday away, what was the point in learning how to drive?

Mortem didn't agree with my dreary logic, he kept trying to get me to read it and get my permit. But I just didn't care.

Along with finishing my dissertations, working with Jane, bonding with Dad …dating Mortem, sparring with him, and just chilling out, I tinkered with my suit some more.

I added a vest; it had many clips and latches to hold things. The vest was the thicket of the outfit, and would zip up tightly against the chest, giving me extra protection against bullets and knives.

Because of all of the sparring with Mortem, which had become more of a game recently, I was quite efficient with hand to hand combat.

Mortem had also taught me how to handle the throwing stars and had gotten me throwing knives.

We had set up many dummies in the abandoned warehouse and Mortem had painted targets onto different areas on the bodies, showing me the best places to strike.

Personally, I thought I was doing quite well.

While Tony was more efficient with explosions and long distance fighting, close quarters combat along with hand to hand was much more of my thing.

Numerous other gadgets had been added to the belt that sat slanted on my hips. There was now knock-out gas, stink-pellets, smoke screens, flash bombs, thin wire, real laser pens, mints, (Mortem had snuck them in there…not sure why) and four flash-drives with untraceable and unnoticeable ready-hacking programs that I had created myself. Mortem also wanted me to have a Taser, but since I was practically a walking one…I refused. Now, most of those gadgets were Mortem's idea. They were the more…standard and conventional items.

However, there was also my father's contributions to my little gadget belt.

He had made me bugs disguised as pennies, packets of gum that worked as concealed pepper spray, hairpin trackers, little metal disks that when stepped on stank so badly you would knock yourself out, holographic dots that could copy an image and relay it on an moving object, (people and machines alike) rolls of thin plastic like material, that when comes in contact with any surface (except my gloves, they were covered in the antidote) would become a layer of extreme super glue.

There was also, small mechanical butterfly's that would create loud noises and bright lights, perfect for distractions, (I swear he was drunk when he made these) hormone enhancing spray…yeah, I never even wanted to think about that one, powder that would explode when stepped on, small balls that released a pheromone that rodents loved, and a box that would project some sort of video that would cause you to lose the last fifteen minutes of your memory…on level one.

He also changed my belt so how it created an electromagnetic field, using my sparks to power it, so it would repel bullets, knives, or anything else made of metal…but myself and his suit.

Sometimes, I had to admit. Tony was way above my level in genius.

* * *

"So," Rhodey asked drawing my attention away from my Tablet screen. I scowled at him before looking back down.

I was running a few different programs and simulations to see if I could find a substitute element… or element mixture, to replace the Palladium.

And. He. Was. Distracting. Me.

Tony glanced up between me and Rhodey, he was working on the blueprints to the Mark V (we had switched to roman numerals because it was shorter and easier) which was supposed to be a portable, easy to assemble suit.

I usually helped, in my spare time. But tonight, tonight I wanted to see if I could make some progress.

And. He. Wasn't. Helping.

"So," Rhodey said leaning over my shoulder causing me to close the searches. Least he get suspicious.

"What?" I snapped, narrowing my eyes at him. I hadn't slept well last night, another nightmare, and my chest had been throbbing all day. It was not a good time to be bugging me.

Rhodey raised his arms in surrender at the sound of my tone. "Hey, give a guy a brake here. I was just wondering, between you and Tony. Who do you think is smarter? Does the daughter outshine the father? Or does the father still rule the castle?"

My eyebrow twitched again, he interrupted for that? "That was the worse…whatever that was…ever." I stated as I went back to my searching.

I heard Tony approach from behind and sighed, he wasn't going to let this go. Not until he got an answer.

"So? What do you think Tony? Still the shiniest apple in the cart?" Rhodey said and I closed my Tablet with a snap.

"That was the worse metaphor ever. And trust me; I've heard some bad ones!" I stated as I gave Rhodey a chilling look.

"Hey!" he protested as Dad started laughing.

A small smile appeared on my face as both men laughed hysterically.

"I'm glad you all find me so amusing." I commented, a smirk on my face.

It took a moment for them to calm down, and when they did, we sat in silence…until Tony decided to talk and ruin it.

"Well, to answer your question," Tony started, Rhodey interrupted and said,

"Be truthful Tony."

I rolled my eyes, but decided to add my two cents.

"I think," Tony continued his face stony.

"Tony!" Rhodey warned, and I wanted to smack him. Stop interrupting!

"Totally…" I started and both of us turned to look at each other as we said,

"Dad,"

"Penny."

We stared at each other before bursting out into laughter.

"Wait…so you both think the other is smarter?" Rhodey asked, confused as to how that worked, and why Tony admitted that Penny was smarter. He really was seeing another side to his friend. "How does that work?"

Dad and I smiled at each other; we had already had this conversation.

"Well, while Penny got her diplomas earlier than me," Tony started,

"And Tony has more experience," I added,

"She/he is definitely smarter." We spoke in union, than we turned and glared playfully at each other.

Tony and I sighed, before he continued. "Penny had more…motivation, time and reason, to learn in her childhood."

"While Tony had more comfort and space to experiment...to some degree." I said with a smile.

"So she's much more knowledgeable, study wise, then I was at her age." Tony stated fondly.

"Tony gained the experience and ability to understand something so completely, he can modify it without thinking." I admitted gazing up at my dad. "I'm have no were near the understanding… the comprehension that Tony has of everything, the way that everything just clicks."

"But," Tony added softly, "I have no doubt, that by the time you're my age, you'll surpass this old man. And trust me, I don't understand everything."

I rolled my eyes and playfully shoved him. "Dad, stop it. You're not old!"

"Oh thank God!" Tony exclaimed hugging me. "I was worried for a moment."

"Dad!" I exclaimed warmly a smile spread across my lips, and the Palladium poison out of my mind.

* * *

Rhodey stood there silently, not for the first time since he had discovered his friend's daughter, they had seemed to forget he was in the room.

During the past four months, he had the opportunity to see Tony flourish around his daughter. He became…no he embraced his real self. For it had always been there, Tony was just no longer hiding from it.

If Tony ever showed the world who he truly was, they would be surprised.

So would Pepper be…for that matter.

* * *

**Done, another chapter. Hope you enjoyed it. I do believe what I typed about the level of intellect between father and daughter to be true.**

**Hope you all have enjoyed it. Thanks so much to everyone.**

**Cp**


	46. World be Damned(unbeta'd)

The Unknown Variable

**I'm just going to have to get used to saying it, won't I? I OWN NOTHING THAT BELONGS TO DISNEY, MARVEL, OR JK ROWLING.**

**Are you happy now?**

* * *

I coughed harshly as I reflected over the past five months. So much had changed, and yet…so much had stayed the same; it was astounding.

Mortem was really starting to worry about me…and frankly so was I. There was finally (not that this was a good thing mind you) enough poison in my system that I was starting to show it.

My skin was now deathly pale, which for my already pale skin, that was saying something. I had dark bags under my eyes, my face was gaunt and most of the time, I had no appetite.

My chest was also in almost constant pain. Sometimes, it was just a steady throb that I could ignore. Other times it was an excruciating, intense burning so bad that I screamed and sobbed in Mortem's arms until it faded.

Also, the coughing. I was sure the coughing was almost the worst part of it. My throat was almost always dry, and there was nothing I could do to sooth it.

I had lost weight. How much I had no clue, but I had defiantly lost a good amount. I was also almost constantly tired… I never had as much energy as I should have.

I slept a good eight hours at least every night, and yet each morning I was running on fumes. My fatigue also was affecting my thought process and my strength. I had stopped going into work with Jane, because eventually they would notice something was wrong with my behavior. I was having a hard enough time hiding it from Tony.

I had also started wearing a Hologram around me constantly, to hide my zombie like appearance.

My hair was also thinning…slowly but surely. Personally, I was terrified…too much of this reminded me of how Mom was before she died.

Mortem had stayed by my side through it all, the nights I couldn't sleep because of the pain…or the moments were I would end up coughing for twenty minutes straight…practically suffocating.

The poison was spreading faster than I anticipated…Mortem and I estimated that I had a little over a month. That meant that Dad had about six months or so…

We also discovered that my sparks were another factor in the equation. They were speeding up the poisoning any time I used them.

Mortem had discovered that one…I still wasn't sure how, but I was sure that it had something to do with his 'mystic entity powers' that he wasn't allowed to talk about.

Sometimes, I would swear that Mortem and my music were the only two things keeping me sane.

I had become quiet around Tony…I tried not to, but I was withdrawing and pushing him away.

After everything we had been through, I was hurting him.

I saw it every time I made an excuse. I saw it every time I went to bed early. Every time I ditched him for one reason or another.

I just couldn't face him though. Not knowing that I was dying…that I was leaving. That knowledge would break him. Crush him…totally ruin him.

So, I kept it from him; and in the process…it placed a wall in-between us. One that Tony didn't even know what there.

I stopped Flashing to places, which meant I stopped visiting Bruce whenever I was really bored. Mortem now took me everywhere, but he didn't take me to see him because of Hulk's extreme reaction to his presence. I stopped using my invisibility to hide the scars. I just always wore long sleeve shirts. …I stopped using my hovering to pull pranks on Tony. I really miss doing that.

Another thing that was happening with my Core…the actual Palladium would burn out incredibly fast.

Tony had updated our Arc's again a few months ago. These were easier to replace and manage, so the whole 'snag' incident never repeated.

Tony also modified the base plates in both of our chests so that they held a few minutes of charge, in case something like Stane ever happened again.

Because the Palladium burned out quickly, I had to change it often. At first I only had to change it once, but it was steadily increasing; and soon, I would have to do it every few days.

If my calculations were correct that is; and they usually were.

* * *

I leaned back against Mortem's chest as I breathed a sigh of relief. The pain had finally faded. My chest had flared in unimaginable pain about fifteen minutes, and it was finally starting to fade.

"This stinks." I muttered sleepily under my breath, wiping the tears from my eyes. The large pain spikes were always the worst, they left me exhausted, sore, and emotionally drained.

Not to mention that they were getting worse. Slowly, but surely the spikes of pain were growing, lasting longer, and wearing me out more.

I snuggled deeper into Mortems embrace as he wrapped his arms around me tucked my head beneath his chin.

I am inclined to agree. Mortem signed for me, and I closed my eyes.

"…I'm gonna sleep now…" I whispered before yawning.

Mortem pulled a blanket around me and I sighed contently.

The pain was still there, a constant throb around my Core, but with Mortems arms wrapped around me, and his breath in my ear…it didn't seem to matter.

Most people would say my life was going down the drain…but I was inclined to disagree. Sure, I was dying, but I still had my family, and I still had my mind.

That was all I really cared about.

The rest of the world be damned.

* * *

Tony's POV

My smile faded as I entered the lab only to find it quiet and empty. Penny wasn't here.

My eyebrows furrowed as I dumped my stuff onto my desk and called out to Jarvis, "Jar, were's Penny?"

Jarvis' reply was swift, but caused worry to appear in my gut. "She has yet to leave her room sir. I am also locked out."

Penny locked Jarvis out of her room all the time, so that didn't bother me. It was the fact that Jarvis hadn't seen her that concerned me.

Nodded to myself I quickly slid open the hidden door and entered Penny's room.

I instantly noticed that the lights were off, I wouldn't have been able to see my hand in front of my face if it hadn't been for the light pouring in from the lab.

"Pen?" I called softly, noticing the large bundle of blankets on her bed.

I smile softly as I saw something shift, and moved part of the comforter away to see Penny's sleeping face.

My eyes instantly noticed her pale face covered in a sheet of sweat and the dark bags under her eyes.

'God, she looks awful!' I thought to myself.

As I brushed a strand of her red hair away from her face she stirred.

"Daddy?" she whispered hoarsely, her eyes barely open.

My heart clenched in concern as I knelt down beside her bed.

"Hey Pen." I spoke softly, and stroked her pale, warm check.

"…I'm not feelin' good…" She whispered softly as her eyes closed again.

A grim frown that I tried to turn into a smile appeared on my face as I asked, "Anything I can do?"

"Hmmmnnn," Penny mumbled with a small shake of her head.

"You just try to sleep it off," I suggested as I tucked the blanket in tighter around my teenage daughter.

"I'll make you some tea." I stated, and I thought I saw a small look of question flash across Penny's face before she relaxed and her breathing deepened.

Shaking my head, I turned to exit the room, though at the last second I froze. Narrowing my eyes I glanced back around her darkened room.

I swore I had seen something…

Trying to convince myself that it was just a trick of the light I left her room and kept the door cracked; just enough room for some small light, and a cool breeze to enter.

I glanced down at my watch as it started beeping. I had another meeting in New York, relating to Iron Man, and then a Board Meeting to discuss the new direction Stark Industries was trying to take…

Trying the key word.

I took off the watch and threw it onto my desk.

I knew that I hadn't been the most attentive father the past few months but I tried to make it up to her when I was home. I froze and my heart almost stopped with the horrifying realization…I was doing almost the same thing Dad had…he was never around, and when he was…he was doing stupid things to try and make it up. (At least, he had before Mom died…then he just drank)

I pretending not to see the way Penny was distancing herself from me in the past month or so, but I did; and now, the reason why became clear.

I was becoming my father, I wasn't there for her; and I was no longer going to let that happen.

Determination set in as I strode up the stairs, there was no way I was following my father's path.

My daughter was sick and I was going to be there and take care of her.

Rest of the world be damned. I would make it up to her some how.

* * *

**(I was going to cut this out but I liked it too much)**

I hummed to myself softly as I moved the kettle onto the stove, and pulled two mugs out of the cabinet.

It had been years since I made this tea, the last time being when Evanna had been sick.

It was an old family recipe…from my mother's side. She had taught it to me when I was ten and had been sick with the measles.

The tea itself was a mixture of Chai, Green Tea, cloves, and Chamomile, you boiled the water with the tealeaves and cloves inside so it would steep faster, and the flavors mixed.

I pulled out the bottle of honey, and the jug of milk out of the fridge.

"Tony?" Pepper's voice drifted into the kitchen and I groaned, I didn't need her nagging at the moment.

"You're supposed to be in New York right now…not…wait…are you making tea?" Pepper stated as she walked into the kitchen and froze in shock.

The kettle whistled and I quickly turned off the stove and, after putting a strainer above the mugs, pored the steaming liquid into the cups.

Putting the kettle down I quickly added the honey and waited for it to dissolve.

"Tony," Pepper stated, and I glanced at my old friend who was now standing behind my shoulder.

"You need to be on the east coast…not making tea." Pepper stated but I didn't reply. "Which I didn't even know you could do."

I refrained from rolling my eyes and added the milk to the steaming mixture.

Closing the milk and placing it back into the fridge I picked up the mugs and made my way back down to the lab.

"Tony!" Pepper exclaimed, now upset…perhaps I shouldn't have ignored her. "Don't ignore me!"

"I'm not," I replied, pausing at the top of the stairs.

I sighed and said, "There's a lot you still don't know about me Pepper."

Seeing the confusion on Pepper's face I slowly made my way down the stairs, I had a sick daughter to take care of.

"But what about the meetings?" Pepper asked, trying to get me to come with her.

"You take care of them. I don't care." I stated.

"But…" Pepper protested as I entered the lab, leaving her at the top of the stairs by herself.

I knew why she was confused. I had been planning for these meetings for a week, and now I was just not going.

Nothing was more important than Penny, and it was time that I remembered that.

* * *

**Oh, I just love it when Tony goes into father mode. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed it! Yes, Tony came to the wrong conclusion about Penny's behavior, but from his perspective, it was valid. Anyway, thanks to all of you who've reviewed, Favorited, or fallowed. **

**Thanks to Expecto Prongs for Beta'ing  
Cp**


	47. LET ME GO!(unbeta'd)

The Unknown Variable

**Disney, Marvel, and JK own all rights. I do not, so continue reading with this in mind.**

* * *

I had learned how to hide my constant pain and fatigue from my father. It involved holograms and this blue energy drink that Mortem always brought me. It was strange, and I knew that there was nothing like it on earth, but I trusted him. So I drank the blue fizzy drink whenever the pain or tiredness became too much to handle.

Which, sadly, was becoming more often.

I had made absolutely no progress in finding a suitable replacement for the core. I also had a feeling that while my health was steadily declining, I was no longer alone in that matter.

I knew…no…I was certain that Tony was now showing the symptoms of Palladium poisoning.

While it was too early for it to hit him as hardly as it had me, I knew that he was already ether really close to figuring it out…or he already had. It was one of the two…I just hoped it was the first.

Sadly, I wasn't sure how to break the topic.

But looking back on Tony's most recent actions, I couldn't try to convince myself otherwise. Tony most likely knew.

First off, he was now restarting the Stark Expo…which hadn't been done since his father ran the business years and years ago.

Also, he was home a lot more. Which wasn't a bad thing…it had just messed up the plan I had made…which was sleep while Tony was gone and be awake when he was here.

Now, with him home all the time, I just had to watch what I did more carefully.

Tony's actions were also slowly becoming more and more…instantaneous I suppose is a good word to describe them.

He just decided to do things on a whim, and did them.

Like last week, he decided that he wanted to take me to Rio. So, he took his privet jet, and after making sure that I was invisible (which _hurt_) flew us both to Rio for the day. It was fun, but I was so tired and in so much pain that it was hard to enjoy the trip.

Much to my annoyance, the US government was starting to breathe down Dad's neck about the Iron Man suits. My eyebrow had literally twitched when I found out that they had been doing that for months now and he just hadn't told me.

Because of the strain put on Rhodey to convince Tony to hand the suits over, and the government using his military status as a manipulator, Rhodey didn't come around as often any more.

He had assured me that it was just to keep my father and I safe, though I knew it was also so he could keep his job.

I wasn't stupid, and at times I hated how I was treated because of my age.

The whole 'let's poke our noses into Penny's business' in NM had finally calmed down. Darcy called daily, and Jane would show up at the house every once in a while, but they weren't pushing as much as they had been.

I was still a consultant, but I had completely stopped coming into the office regularly. I knew that Selvig knew that s_omething_ was up. It was quiet obvious when Selvig would just stare at me for long periods of time with a thoughtful look on his face, and then demand that I come in today. Nope, that wasn't going to happen.

I groaned as I tossed another pen cap at the wall behind my bed. I was SO bored, and in pain. Boredom and pain never mix well…ever; do not try to convince me otherwise.

I wasn't sure where Mortem was…he had glared up at the ceiling an hour ago, kissed me, and then just vanished. Part of me was really annoyed at him; the other part…was just…empty I guess.

My eyebrow twitched as my Tablet rang, transferring a call from the NM house to me.

Sighing, I pressed the answer button and rolled my eyes as I saw the caller ID…I wasn't really in the mood to talk to Mrs. Hyln. She had a tendency to be overbearing and smothering.

"Hello," I answered, making sure that my voice was steady and not portraying any of my emotions.

"_Hello, Penny dear." _Mrs. Hyln's voice drifted through the speaker softly.

"Hi Mrs. Hyln, what can I do for you today?" I asked, hoping that what she said wouldn't drag me out of bed…it was a feeble hope though, knowing her.

"_Well, it's been such a long time since you've left the house, sweetie, and I know that you don't have a lot of friends…"_

'I have plenty of friends, that you very much' I mentally snapped, I didn't need her judgment.

"What do you want, Mrs. Hyln?" I asked, tired of her beating around the bush.

I heard her pause for a moment before stating, _"My son, Ben, is turning eleven today…and his party is starting in about an hour. Now, I know that you don't like social events. But I think it would do you some good to get out of the house. I expect you to be over here within twenty minutes."_

I groaned as Mrs. Hyln hung up. Great, I couldn't just ditch, or Hyln would show up at the house and literally drag me there.

I popped my back, and picked up my blue fizzy drink that Mortem had left me as I stood up. I pulled open my wardrobe and tried to block out the pain…why did I have such a bad feeling about this?

It was an eleven year olds birthday party…what could go wrong?

* * *

I was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans, with black embroidery on the pockets, my shirt was long sleeved and a deep green color with leaves embroidered on the sleeves, my hair was pulled back with a black and green headband that Mortem had given me the week before. I was wearing my tricked out boots, and my gauntlets were hidden under the sleeves…just in case. I was also wearing a black choker that Mortem had also given me; it was a strange symbol, like a triangular eye hanging on black ribbon.

I was carrying a small box wrapped with blue paper from the local store; I had no clue what I was supposed to get an eleven year old boy for his birthday…oh well.

I popped my neck and took another sip of the blue fizzy drink that I had poured into a black water bottle. The strange blue concoction made the pain in my chest dull and gave me a greatly appreciated energy boost. Mortem had warned me, however, not to drink it all too quickly. He wouldn't specifically say why, he just said that there would be unpleasant consequences.

I rang the doorbell, as I approached the grey front door of the Hyln household. I could hear the boys run around excitedly, getting ready for the party, and their mother telling them to calm down as the door opened.

"Penny dear, come in! I'm so glad you could make it. The party will be starting soon." Mrs. Hyln said as she waved me into her brightly colored home.

A small smile flickered across my face as I gave Mrs. Hyln the poorly wrapped box. "I wasn't sure what to get…" I stated as she smiled warmly at me.

"Nonsense dear, you didn't have to. I'm sure Ben will love it." She assured me, and then turned back towards the door as more guests arrived.

* * *

My eyebrow twitched as I watched the swarm of children all pile into the living room that seemed much too small.

The party was much more than just an eleven year old birthday. Twenty kids around Ben's age had shown up, and another ten that were around his brothers' ages. Also, all twelve of Ben's cousins, all boys, also showed up; their ages ranging from six to twenty six most of them teenagers.

A few of the parents had stayed, and a few family friends were also there. Old Mr. Yin even showed up, though he fell asleep in the rocking chair quickly. Selvig, Jane and Darcy were also there. Apparently Darcy was dating one of Ben's older cousins and nether of her co-workers trusted her alone with the guy…or at least that was their story.

Cake and ice cream had already been consumed and all of the kids were now on sugar highs…it was utter madness. There was like…thirty-five kids under the age of thirteen and like...ten teenagers here. It was utter madness.

I stood in the corner as Ben tore open present after present. The gifts ranged from action figures to PJ's…I winced as I thought of my present…not typical at all.

After about an hour of gift unwrapping, Mrs. Hyln handed Ben my gift, and he tore open the paper revealing a brown box that held a small black box five inches in diameter, with a long cord wrapped up next to it and a thin remote sitting beside it.

Everyone was silent as they tried to figure out what it was, and my face flushed as people stared at me.

"How about you explain what your gift is, Penny?" Mrs. Hyln suggested, and I nodded, my face as red as my hair.

I walked over and sat next to the birthday boy, the numerous kids squashing together so I had room.

"Now," I said, trying to keep my voice steady, "this is something very special, and you must be very careful with it, understood."

My words had caught the child's attention because his brown eyes were locked on mine and he was latterly bouncing in excitement as he nodded.

I picked up the small Nintendo 3DS that he had been given and turned it on, "There are two ways to use this." I said as I lifted up the small black box that had a small lense on the top.

"You can ether slide it over the screen," I told him, as the box attached to the DS's screen, "Or, you could use this cord to connect it to the TV or something."

"But what does it do?" He asked, looking at the black box attached to the DS. I smiled, and noticed that everyone else was also wondering he same thing.

"How about you turn it on and find out?" I suggested, a grin spreading across my face. The Mario Bro.'s game in the DS had already loaded and the main menu was on the scream.

I showed Ben where the small power button was and watched him with a smile, and his face lit up in joy and awe as the cube powered on.

The little box started to glow slightly as it flickered to life, and instantly right above our heads, appeared a hologram of the Mario Bro's menu.

"Oh my word!" Mrs. Hyln exclaimed in awe. While Holograms were practically common knowledge, they weren't expected to be available to the public for another seven years or so. Only those who could seriously afford them could buy them.

"You bought him a holographic projector?" One of his older cousins exclaimed in shock.

"Nope." I stated flippantly, popping the P and sounding a lot like Tony. I took another sip of the blue drink as I replied, "I made it."

That made everyone's jaws drop even farther. "It was lying around the house, and I had no clue what to get him. I thought that this would make every electronic video, either a game, show, or whatever, much more enjoyable.

"This remote controls it, and it also has to charge, so make sure to plug it in every night. This cord is almost completely universal for most new electronics. You can plug it into your Ipod, TV, a hand-held, computer…whatever you can think of."

Everyone was still looking at me in shock, except for the kids who were now watching in fascination as Ben played his new game, with all of the kids watching his progress on the hologram.

"Penny…we can't accept this. It's too much." Mrs. Hyln stated once she found her voice.

I rolled my eyes as I stood up, "Nonsense, it was a gift, and besides, if it breaks or gets a glitch I'm right next door. I could fix it within an hour."

I shook my head as I watch everyone get entranced by the projected video game.

It wasn't really that big of a deal.

* * *

About forty-five minutes later, Mrs. Hyln chased all of the kids and teens outside…apparently it was a pool party. No one had bothered tell me that.

I scowled as I leaned against the side of the house, farthest spot away from the pool that was still shaded. Everyone was splashing around and having a lot of fun in the water, it was hectic and chaotic. The only part of the pool that had a bit of elbow room was the small end of the pool were it was ten feet deep, the teenagers occupied that side, and it was a bit quieter.

"Aren't you going to swim?" Mrs. Hyln said, as she stepped next to me.

"Don't have a suit." I stated, trying to avoid the questions and wondering if I should just leave…I had a feeling that I should. But it could just be the shivers of fear creeping up my spine from the sight of the water.

"Run home and get then one, it's a salt water pool." She pushed and I had to clench my jaw to stop myself from snapping at her.

"Hmmm. I don't like water." I finally admitted slowly trying to keep my voice steady. I could already hear the echoes of my screams in the back of my mind, along with the Ten Ring's goon's laughter.

"Come on, there's nothing to be scared of." She stated as one of the teenage boys…one of Ben's cousins, narrowed his eyes at me, and got out of the water.

I stiffened as he said something to four other boys, all who were about my age but much bigger than me, and they all exited the pool and walked over.

My fists clenched by my sides as my instincts screamed at me to run…but they wouldn't dare do anything here…

"Hey party pooper. Does little miss genius not want to get wet?" The tallest boy, with hazel eyes and light brown hair taunted me.

I glanced around, and noticed that Mrs. Hyln was having a conversation with her brother.

"Just leave me alone." I snapped and I quickly looked around for a way out. But the five boys had encircled me, standing shoulder to shoulder, blocking any exit.

"Oh look boys. She's got a temper." Another boy pointed out, I glared at him, but he just laughed.

"I think she should join the party with all of us…don't you think." The first boy said causing all the others to gin wickedly and agree.

It happened so fast, I wasn't even sure what happened. Two of the boys tried to grab my arms, but I dodged thanks to Mortem's training, with a light kick (my boots were reinforced with metal after all) I managed to nock one of the boys away. However, as I went to kick other, the first boy managed to grab one of my arms, and I froze in shock long enough for the other boys to grab my other arm and legs.

"Let me go!" I hissed, as they laughed. I struggled to get free, and to keep my sparks back. It wouldn't do to fry them in front of everyone.

"Feisty." One of the boys commented, as they started carrying me towards the pool.

"Time to get wet, Princess." I heard one of them commented.

My eyes widened and my dread and fear turned into pull blown panic as the memories flooded my mind.

"Let me go!" I screamed as my chest constricted and my breathing quickened.

_My lungs were on fire! Water clawed at my throat as I tried to breath…only to be pulled out of the water for just a moment…_

"PUT ME DOWN!" I couldn't do it…not again…my chest constricted and it didn't matter that my sparks wanted to get free…the poison blocked their path.

My chest reputed in pain as I thrashed around against the boys and memories.

"LET ME GO…"

_My lungs gasped as I was allowed a brief breath of air…laughter filled my ringing ears…my vision spun and blackness clawed at the edge of my vision…_

The boys just laughed, I didn't even notice that we were now at the edge of the pool…my mind was trapped…trapped back in the memories.

"STOP! LET ME GO! MAKE IT STOP!"

_My Core fluttered in pain as the water seeped into the mechanics…back beneath…I couldn't breathe…needed air…_

_Oh the pain… I just wanted it to stop…it all to end…_

"One… Two…" the boys counted as they started to swing me, ignoring my hysteria and loud screams.

I had attracted a crowd…a few were cheering them on…but I vaguely remember one voice calling out to them…

_More and more goons appeared because of my screaming…they all chanted each time I was dunked into the water…_

"Stop! Put her down!" Selvig's voice snapped harshly as he pushed through the crowd. I distantly heard concern in his voice, though my mind was spinning so much against the memories I could be wrong.

"Whatever you say, old man." The first boy smirked…

Then, I was in the air.

"AHHHH!" I screamed…

_They were laughing…their voices echoing through my water clogged ears…how could they be laughing…_

I hit the water and my panic over took all thought…

_My lungs burned as I struggled against their strong grip…_

There was nothing to hold onto, nothing to grab…

_My Core sent wave after wave of pain up my spine…_

Air! I needed air…so much blue…my arms started to slow as my boots slowly dragged me down…

_Air! I needed air, I couldn't breathe…I could see nothing except the dark water the existed around me…_

Nothing but blue…like my sparks…it was such a great color…

_I fell limp as my vision started to fade and my blood seemed to boil in protest…_

…Mortem…where was…Mortem…

_Everything came crashing back to me as I was pulled back into the air. I gasped as sputtered…my head spinning…_

Something grabbed me around my waist; they were going to push me back in…

_Laughter filled my ears as I was suddenly back beneath the water._

Why couldn't they just leave me alone…they had already caused so much pain…

_Why couldn't it just end…this was just a game…a game that I didn't want to play…_

Just let me go…

_Please…_

I didn't want to fight anymore…

_Please, stop! I could breathe burning breaths for a moment…my chest felt like fire… but a different fire from before…_

My lung compressed and all of the sudden my chest erupted in pain as the sharp air entered my lungs.

_I struggled and tried to leave…let me go! Stop it! Let me GO!_

Hands were gripping my shoulders…I had to get away…they were going to do it again…

_Someone slapped me, trying to get me to stop…_

I pushed them all way…there was screaming… and shouting…some even my own…

_My sparks flared just or a second, and the guy was thrown across the room, I wasn't able to move before I was tackled back into submission…_

"Stop…leave me alone…stop it…"

My breathing quickened as I felt something hard come in contact with my back…I couldn't get way…

"_PENNY!" Tony's echoed voice from before filled my thoughts as I was pushed under once again…_

"Come one Penny…Your safe here…"

What was Dad doing here…didn't they take him somewhere else in the cave?

_Why couldn't it just all end…_

A cold hand slowly touched my shoulder… I jumped…I couldn't go back…

"Shh…it's alright…"

_The bright silver eyes looked up at me through the water…his cold hand gripped mine…_

My breathing started to slow as the cold hand started rubbing circles on my back…it was nice…

_Suddenly, my pain disappeared, along with my panic, as my vision faded away._

My mind slowly came back, I noticed that tears were falling down my face and my wet hair clung to my face.

My knees were brought up to my chest, with my arms wrapped around them tightly. I slowed my subconscious rocking as my vision cleared of my mental picture and my vision slowly came back.

"It's alright Penny…no one's going to hurt you…not anymore…" I recognized the voice, and my heart started to calm.

I threw my arms around him and started to sob into his chest. It may not have been Mortem, or even my father. But this truly proved that Selvig cared…

As I stifled the sobs a few minutes later, and my mind was my own again…my cheeks flushed as I noticed everyone watching me.

I had just had an extremely bad panic attack in front of over fifty people.

I hid my face back in Selvig's jacket, I didn't want their pity…I just wanted to go home.

"Come on Penny," I heard Jane's voice and noticed that she was kneeling next to Selvig, alone with Darcy. "Let's get you home."

That was all I wanted right now…I was never coming to a party again.

* * *

**This was a LONG freaking chapter…yup. Like twice the size of the average. Be happy…I wasn't sure how that would work out…hopefully it was realistic. I've never had a panic attack though I have witnessed a few. So…yeah…**

**Anyway, next chapter should be interesting. Thanks to everyone, and Expecto Prongs.  
Cp**


	48. Not The Only One(unbeta'd)

The Unknown Variable

**You shall be submitted to a physcological Evaluation by Fati and Mortem if any of you think I own Marvel, Disney, or JK's work.**

**It shall not be pleasant…you have been warned.**

* * *

I had still been to out of it after the major panic attack and almost drowning…Selvig or Jane…I wasn't sure which…the memory was all blurry, had carried me back to my house.

After they left…about an hour later, once they were sure that I was okay, I turned the HAI back on and Flashed home.

Dad had freaked out when he saw me all wet, shaking, and with red eyes.

He held me for a while as I, sobbing my eyes out again, told him what happened. Dad didn't really say much on the matter; he just let me cry and told me everything was alright.

I eventually fell asleep, and it wasn't until after Dad left, that Mortem reappeared.

I woke up for a second, to see him glaring murderously at the ceiling, before pulling me into his lap; and I fell back asleep with his arms wrapped around me.

* * *

I gasped awake, trying to push the vivid nightmare away. Mortem's arms wrapped tighter around me in comfort as he saw me awake.

I mentally groaned, it looked like the flashback had triggered all kinds of memories that I had tried to forget…and the nightmares were back. Just great.

They weren't the same nightmares from six months ago however, now they involved Stane, Dad dying in numerous ways, and strangely, Fury (who I still hadn't met, but I had watched the surveillance tapes…that he didn't know about…of his and Dad's meeting,) locking me up in some SHIELD base.

I winced as my chest seared in pain, and I remembered that I had left the water bottle filled with the fizzy drink at Mrs. Hyln's house.

I rubbed my chest and coughed harshly as the pain flared again.

Mortem rubbed my arm and pulled me back against his chest as he rubbed my arms in comfort.

I closed my eyes and sighed, before I jumped at the sound of something shattering from the Lab.

I sighed and slowly got up from Mortem's arms and the comfortable bed. I stumbled as my vision spun and I had to grab onto the bed frame to keep myself from falling.

Mortem's cold arms wrapped around my waist and he silently supported me as I regained my balance.

"Thanks," I whispered, as my head and vision returned to normal. Mortem nodded, his silver eyes fixed on mine, as he handed me another blue fizzy drink that had literally just appeared out of thin air.

With a small smile at his antics I took a sip of the offered drink. As the bubbles slid down my throat, the pain in my chest faded, and my limbs and eyelids no longer felt like led.

With a kiss to my temple, Mortem let me go, and after glaring at the ceiling he said,

I'll be back soon…go deal with Tony.

I nodded slightly as he vanished into the shadows.

With a sigh, I slowly made my way out of my room. Narrowing my eyes at the bright light, I spotted Tony easily enough. He was sitting in one of the cars again; a glass of scotch in his hand, and another pile of broken glass lay against the wall.

The holographic screen was open in front of him, and I instantly recognized the information about Palladium poisoning that I had been looking at myself, a few months ago.

I grimaced, I wasn't sure just what Tony was upset about…it could be quite a few things attached to that information…but I knew that he wasn't in the best place.

The Stark Expo was opening tomorrow…or tonight…I wasn't sure what time it was. I knew that Tony was planning on some big entrance and celebration to kick it off. Sadly, because of Expo, memories about Howard had been dragged up for the both of us. Although I had never met the man, the thought of my grandfather left a bitter taste in his mouth; and it was worse for Tony. Who actually had to grow up with him.

"Dad?" I called softly, making sure that my hologram was up. Even though the fizzy drink that Mortem gave me made me feel better, I still looked like shit. I didn't want to worry him…but I knew that I had to. We couldn't avoid it any longer.

Tony's eyes widened as he spotted me, and with a wave of his hand the screen disappeared.

I sighed as I climbed into the car next to him. Tony looked guiltily between me and the glass of alcohol; I held my hand out and have him a look. Dad sighed, but handed the glass over and I slid it beneath the car.

"So…" Dad opened his mouth, probably to say something insignificant, so I cut him off.

"It seems that you have forgotten something, Dad." I stated sadly, looking out over the lab, unable to look at my father.

"Huh?" Tony asked in confusion, though I saw something flicker in his eyes. He knew, he just had been denying it…his conscious mind hadn't connected the dots like his subconscious had.

I shot him a stern look before pulling back up the holographic information about the Palladium poisoning.

"You're not the only one with a Palladium Core." I winced as I said it, and I continued to stare at the information…nothing would make this conversation easier.

"Oh God." I heard Tony gasp, before he cursed loudly.

He groaned and muttered under his breath, "I'm an idiot."

I sighed and turned to face my father, his face was in his hands, and he was pale in shock.

"No you're not, Daddy…I…I should've told you sooner…" I mumbled the last part to myself, but Dad still heard me.

"Oh baby…" Tony whispered as he wrapped his arms around me. I returned the hug, but it did nothing to quench the ball of guilt that had settled in my gut.

"How…how long have you known?" He asked quietly, he wasn't able to actually mention anything about us dying, but we both knew it.

"I…I noticed something…the same day…as the press conference…" I mumbled, and Tony pulled back in shock.

"You mean that you've known for six months about this?!" He exclaimed in worry and shock.

"Well…I didn't think it was that bad at first! I had had my Core for almost a year by that point…it was barely there…I estimated that it would take a while before it would get really bad…but it just got worse, and worse…"I sniffed, blinking back tears at the look of horror on Dad's face.

"How…how long…" he managed to ask, his dark eyes wide in worry and panic.

"Well…I'm not really sure…it keeps accelerating…first it was a year…then six months…then…" I paused, the words caught in my throat. "My powers…it's making it worse…I…I can't even use them half of the time anymore…"

"Penny," Tony stated, his voice sounding hollow. "How long?"

I took a deep breath and whispered, "Half a month? I don't know…it's…it's just getting worse…"

"Pen, why didn't you tell me?" He asked choking on his own words.

"The same reason you weren't going to tell me, Dad…I've been trying everything!" I was crying now, tears streamed down my face and the hopelessness crawled back into my heart. "I can't fix it…I've tried everything…there's nothing…"

"Penny!" Tony snapped, and I managed to lock eyes with his blurry figure, "We are going to fix this, alright. Don't think like that. It doesn't matter, we're Starks, and we will find a way to survive."

I nodded, but his words didn't make me feel better.

My eyes wondered back towards the screen, a small pop-up in the corner of the display caught my attention and my eyes widened.

"Is…is that your blood tox. Results!?" I exclaimed in shock.

Dad's eyes narrowed in confusion as he said slowly, "Yeah… Pen…Penny what's wrong?"

My mind whirled with the possibilities…Dad's had progressed so much faster than mine, it took him six months to get the same score it had taken me a year to get…oh shit…

I quickly did the mental calculations and estimates and my face paled….not that Tony noticed.

"Where's the thingy?" I asked, glancing around…trying to find what he used to test his blood. I could just go get my tablet…but I didn't feel up to moving.

"What thingy? Penny! What's wrong!" Tony exclaimed, looking at me in worry and confusion.

"Whatever you used…to test your blood…" I stated, before feeling like an idiot when Tony pulled the little device out of his pocket.

I quickly turned it on and pricked my finger, paling when the results appeared on both the screen and the device.

My blood had been at 23% blood toxicity yesterday, before the party. Now, I was at 31%. It had taken three months…after I found out about it, for it to get up to 10% another two months for it to get up to 16%, and it had accelerated to 23% in the past month…now…it had gained three months' worth of points in less than TWENTY-FOUR HOURS!

Dad, whose symptoms couldn't have shown up more than a half a month ago, was already at 11%. I don't know how long he had been checking his blood or if this was the first time he had done it.

"Is this your first blood test?" I asked, my mind whirling with different statistics and possibilities.

"Second, first one I did a few weeks ago…right before our trip to Rio. It was at 4%...why's this so important Penny?" Tony asked.

I sighed in relief; Tony's wasn't accelerating that quickly. I had a theory that ether my Sparks had been keeping the poisoning at bay, or Mortem…because if Dad's poisoning was anything to go by, I should've run into problems ages ago.

"I need you to keep me updated on your percentage…start testing every day." I stated before I started moving around the hologram, so I could hack into my Tablet without physically having to go get it.

"Penny! Why?" Tony said, pulling me around to face him, by frowning in confusion when he noticed that his hands seamed to go into my arms a bit. Shoot…there goes the hologram plan.

"Penny…" Tony said slowly "are you… wearing…a hologram…?"

I sighed, "I didn't want to worry you…" I stated slowly before flicking the small holo-ball that sat as a ring on my finger, off.

Tony's eyes widened and he cursed when he saw my appearance. "Penny! You can't hide this stuff from me! You need to tell me these things!"

I looked away from him, guilt coursing through my veins, "I didn't want to worry you…"

I heard Tony sigh and he spun me around to face him. "Pen, I'm your father…it's my job to worry about you."

I managed a weak smile, trying to ignore the throbbing that was reappearing.

"Now, please explain to me what you know? Since obviously you know more about this than I do?"

I winced at the tone of Dad's voice, by sighed and complied. He deserved to know, it wasn't just my life on the line any more…and while I couldn't be curtain until we did a few more blood tox. tests on him…I had this pit in my stomach that was telling me that neither of us had more than three weeks to live…two at the most for me.

* * *

**Well, there was the much waited for revelation… yeah Penny is getting worst faster. I'm just going to guess and say that the whole Iron Man II movie line was about a week or so in length…I have no clue if that is accurate, but hey, that's what I'm going with.**

**Thanks for everything everyone, Iron Man II official starts next chapter…so you know (I'm pretty sure I said this before) but I only have Iron Man II on my Kindle Fire, and I can't get Amazon Instant on the Fire to have Subtitals, to it probably won't be as accurate as with Iron Man I, but that's okay, because this is where it starts to get a bit more AU. Not by much, but still.**

**Later,  
Cp**


	49. One Week(unbeta'd)

The Unknown Variable

**I have never owned anything that has become a major motion picture, though I hope to someday.**

* * *

"Still sure you want to go through with this?" I asked my father through the com. link Jarvis had going for us.

"I already told you Pen, this may have been a huge pain for me growing up, but I have to admit. My father had the right idea. If we die…"

"Dad…" I warned him, sipping on my blue drink as Mortem wrapped his arms around me. I was sitting on the couch in the Lab, in Mortem's lap to be precise.

Dad was currently in a cargo plane, getting ready to be dropped over the Expo…which was somewhere in New York State…not City. Not sure why he needed the plane, but I wasn't going to bother asking.

The TV was on and the reporters were anxiously waiting for the official opening of the Exp. I was going to be watching, and talking to Tony through a cloaked Earpiece the whole time.

We stayed up all night talking about our new found (well...sort-of new found) major health issue (to put it lightly) and Tony, at the moment, still seemed to have a small shred of hope that he could fix this.

I, however, lost that hope months ago.

"Pen, I just want to go out with a bang. Alright? I'll talk to you once I'm on the ground…fireworks will be going off and I would very much like to avoid them."

I rolled my eyes tiredly, and Mortem rubbed my back, "You totally just jinxed it…you know that right."

I just heard Tony laugh as ACDC started playing loudly from both the earpiece and the TV.

"Only Dad," I commented, and Mortem signed in agreement.

The television camera zoomed in on the bright figure that was rolling and maneuvering through the fireworks, the tv's showed sky just for a moment, when I heard a large thunk, boom, from the earpiece, before Dad appeared back on screen.

"You hit a firework…didn't you." I teased him, ignoring the constant throb…that not even the fizzy drink could completely disperse.

"Be quiet you." Dad mumbled back, his pride having taken a blow.

"Whatever you say," I snipped back, a smile on my face.

My attention was drawn to the screen as Tony landed on the stage. Sparklers erupted behind him, lights flashed, and scantily-clad girls, all dressed like Iron Man, were dancing behind him.

"Show off, much." I stated, both to myself, Mortem, and my father.

I thought that I looked more like a concert than the opening to the legendary Expo, but hey, it was Tony's ballgame.

Tony waved to the crowd as the girls behind him started doing extremely large kicks, all in a line…that I couldn't for a life of me remember the name of. **(Totally real by the way…I can't)**

I sighed and rolled my eyes, "Anything to feed your ego."

Finally, the platform that had been built into the stage started rotating, and dismantled the Mark IV in a very…showy display.

The crowd went wild as Tony appeared, in his grey suit (that was slightly baggy to not show his lost weight) without a wrinkle.

"How on earth did he do that?" I wondered to myself.

"Why do you think I used a plane? I would be a mess if I flew here myself." Tony muttered in response, though you couldn't tell at all.

"Your good." I commented lightly.

Tony and the dancing girls all bowed at the same time and I had to roll my eyes. Seriously?

I rolled my eyes again as I glared at the huge American flag that was being displayed on screen…he totally had another reason to do this.

"Trying to remain popular and on the Gov.'s good terms?" I asked him, not really expecting a reply.

"Smart girl," was the low reply.

I seriously had to learn how to talk without appearing to. Dad was an expert.

The song finally ended, and I was glad when the dancers left the stage.

As the camera zoomed in on Tony I couldn't help but chuckle, "Dad, your bow tie is crooked."

"Hmmm…" was Tony reply though the com. as he addressed the crowd.

"Oh, it's good to be back." Tony said with a smile, clapping. "You missed me, I missed you too."

Someone yelled something from the audience and Tony replied, "Blow something up, I already did that."

The audience laughed and I rolled my eyes. Dad was enjoying this…but I could tell his whole heart wasn't in it.

"I'm not saying that the world is enjoying its longest period of uninterrupted peace in years because of me." Tony stated quietly, but the cheering of the crowd stated otherwise.

My eyebrow twitched… "I should have looked over his speech before hand." I stated to myself.

Might have been a good idea Mortem sighed.

I finally noticed the Expo logo on the screen behind Dad, and sighed, that thing could look better.

"I'm not saying that from the ashes of captivity…" I rolled my eyes. He had been playing this part… pretending in front of everyone that the cave incident didn't affect him anymore. I knew otherwise. We still had late nights together because of nightmares. "Never has a greater phoenix metaphor been modified in human history.

"I'm not saying, that Uncle Sam can kick back on a lawn chair sippin' on an ice tea because I have a come across anyone who's man enough to go toe to toe with me on my best day!"

Tony paused as the crowd went wild, and I heard, from both the com. and the TV as some girl yelled,

"I LOVE YOU TONY!"

I rolled my eyes…that was going a bit far. Dad obviously thought something along those lines as well for he raised his hand and said, "Please," to calm the crowd down.

"It's not about me." A smile appeared on my face, Dad had really changed in the past nine months, some people could see it, and others couldn't. But I was proud of my father.

"It's not about you," My eyebrows narrowed, as I tried to figure out where this was going. "It's not even about us."

The audience went deadly silent, as they too tried to figure out where this was going. "It's about, Legacy, it's about what we choose to leave behind for future generations. That's why, for the next _year…"_

"The Expo is going to last _that_ long? Dad, how much time and money did you put into this?" I didn't expect a response, but I knew that this was his reason for doing this now.

He wanted to make his mark on the world. But a good one this time.

"You go Dad." I whispered, and I saw a faint smile appeared on his face at my words.

"…that for the first time since 1974 the best and brightest men and woman of nations and corporations the world over, will pool their resources, share their collective division, to leave behind a brighter future."

Dad licked his lips, and for a moment, I thought that I saw a flash of pain on his face "You okay Dad?" I asked.

"Therefore, what I am saying, if I'm saying anything is Welcome back, to the Stark Expo!" Tony announced at the crowd went wild.

I had to say, Tony definitely knew how to work an audience.

"And now, making a special guest appearance from the great beyond to tell you what it is all about. Please welcome, my father Howard." Tony then turned and walked off stage as an old video of Howard started to play.

I turned the volume down, it was a video I myself had seen myself numerous times, looking into Tony's and Howard's past.

I heard Tony sigh over the com. and my brow furrowed as I asked, "You okay dad?"

"Yeah," he sighed, "I'm fine…chest piece just flared up out there."

I sat up straighter, that was another symptom of the poisoning…but it didn't show up for me till I hit 17% toxicity.

"Dad." I stated, my voice gone hard with worry. "Test your blood…that's not a good sign."

"Good thing I brought it with me." Dad muttered under his breath.

There was a heavy paused, before Dad said, "Shit!"

"Dad!?" I asked, now getting really worried. It was at 10% barely twelve hours ago…

"It's at 19% Pen." Tony said gravely.

"Bloody Hell," I swore cursing the acceleration.

"Dad, you know what this means…" I started, but Tony interrupted me.

"I know Penny! I know…" Tony sighed; and he did know. We had done over multiple theories the night before, and while this wasn't concrete yet, if the acceleration continued on this path…

Then Tony had about two weeks to live…

And I only had one.

* * *

**And so it begins again! Hehe, oh and just so I reassure some people, yes, Thor is going to show up and is going to be a part of this. There, that should make some of you happy.**

**Oh, and have any of you just really wanted to slap Hammer? I really really want to…just cause. **

**I'll probably make Penny do it eventually...or humiliate him somehow.**

**Thanks for everything all of you,  
Cp**


	50. Only Tony(unbeta'd)

The Unknown Variable

**JUST LEAVE ME ALONE! I DON'T OWN ANYTHING!**

* * *

_A large silver and gold castle stood before me. Its walls were like mist, appearing and disappearing at will._

_I walked through the echoing halls, feeling completely at peace, something totally forin to me._

_A blonde haired, purple eyed child stood in front of me. Her mystic eyes glared at me as her face twisted in fury "What are you doing here!?"_

"_Father has sent me to speak without before my next Life." The words flowed from my lips, but they sounded like they belonged to someone else._

_The child's face became stony, before an emotional mask slipped into place. "What is that Father wants Aequivalere?"_

_Everything twisted and vanished before reforming again. I was standing on a hill, this time, with Mortem by my side. _

_I turned and glared at him heatedly. I was all his fault! I mentally jumped, wondering why I was so mad at the Entity of Death. _

"_It is because of you that I am stuck like this." I snapped, anger coursing through my veins. "Over and over again, why? Why would you do this to me?!" _

_Mortem sighed, "I never meant for this to happen, and you must know that…I only reside over the realm of Death, I have no power in the Realms of Paths and Fate."_

_I ignored his words and glared at him one more time before vanishing in silver mist…I would never forgive him._

* * *

I awoke with a start, and groaned.

'Not another one…' I thought to myself. After the cave, the nightmares had kept the strange dreams at bay, but now they come along with the nightmares. It seemed that the sicker I got…the closer to Death I got…the more they came.

I had learned not to ask Mortem about them, for at any mention of them, he would cover my mouth before glaring at the ceiling and leaving for hours on end.

I glanced at the clock it was about eleven pm.

"Dad should be home by now…" I muttered to myself, pushing the strange dream from my mind.

I slipped from my bed and entered the lab. The lights turned on as my door opened.

"Jarvis?" I called, coughing lightly.

'Hope one of those fits don't start' I thought to myself.

"Yes, Miss Penny." The trusty AI replied.

"Patch a call through to my Dad, will you?" I asked, as I plopped down into Tony's chair.

"Right away, Miss Penny." Jarvis replied, and instantly ringing could be heard from the surround-sound speakers.

"Hello?" Tony's voice filtered down through the ceiling, he sounded tired and stressed…just how much had happened in less than three hours?

"Hey Dad, where are you?" I asked loudly, trying to get my point across.

"Oh God Pen, I'm sorry. I'm driving to DC right now…I got subpoenaed on my way out of the Exp. I have to appear before the Senate…Armed…something tomorrow at Nine." Tony's voice echoed through the lab.

"Bloody hell, Dad…you okay?" I asked, sitting up in the chair, my chest clenching in worry and pain.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Sorry I didn't call earlier…I'm driving. Happy just fell asleep fifteen minutes ago and I didn't know if you were sleeping…" Tony trailed off with a yawn.

"It's okay Dad…just drive carefully; and make sure you sleep before court tomorrow. Anything you need me to do on my end?" I asked, wishing that I could do something to help.

"I'm almost to DC Pen, I'll try to sleep a few hours when I get there… okay?" Tony said gravely.

Both he and I knew that it wasn't likely that he would sleep for more than two hours at the most.

"Alright Dad…keep your com. in during the hearing, alright? I'll also be in their system if you need anything." I said, hoping to contribute something to help.

"You try to sleep, you hear me? I don't want…" Tony paused, and realized how he couldn't exactly say what he wanted to.

Sleeping doesn't exactly cure poisoning.

"I'll try too Dad…" I replied. "Good luck, I'll be watching your back tomorrow."

"Maybe I won't make them all look like fools…since you've got my back." Tony quipped, causing me to laugh.

"Naw, you'd do that anyway. Besides, I bet it will be fun to watch…just don't do anything I wouldn't." I stated with a chuckle, a smile on my face.

"Thanks for the free rein Pen. Talk to ya in the morning." Tony said, and I could hear the smile in his voice.

"Night Dad," I called.

"Night Penny." He replied before the call disconnected.

* * *

I only managed to get another hour of sleep…my chest was flaring up again and it was hard to sleep while you're in constant pain. Mortem had disappeared while I was sleeping, before I talked to Dad, and never showed back up. I was worried about him.

I was also out of my blue drink, so to distract myself from the pain; I hacked into SHIELD and played on my violin.

By seven that morning, I was already in the electrical system and computer systems that belonged to the court that had subpoenaed Dad.

I had some fun by playing with the lights and automated sinks in the bathrooms and various offices. People were freaking out, and one person had already fled the building, screaming about 'ghosts'.

I was completely connected to everything that I could be in that court room by the time eight forty-five came around. I had hacked into the news network that would be broadcasting, the screens that would be playing evidence, and various other electrical devices that was set up around the hall.

"Pen, you there?" Tony said through the com. quietly.

"Armed and ready Dad, they have a major fly on the wall…and they don't even know it." I commented, trying to keep my voice light…and failing by coughing harshly at the end.

I imagined Tony rolling his eyes, "How much sleep did you get last night?" he asked.

"Enough." I replied, turning up the volume on the TV slightly.

"Penny…" my dad said warningly, but I just rolled my eyes and replied.

"Unless you want to discuss _your_ sleeping habits, drop it Dad." I snapped, not wanting to have this discussion.

There was a moment of silence before Tony said, "I'm getting called in. I'll keep the com. open, alright?"

"Rock and roll 'em Dad," I commented with a smile.

"Always do." He replied before the com. went silent.

* * *

A large grin had settled on my face as I watched the Judge try and get my father's attention. This was going to be fun.

"Mr. Stark, could we pick up where we left off…"

Tony, however, was talking to Pepper. Sadly, the camera's angle was too far off to read his lips, and he was mouthing the words so the com. didn't pick up anything.

"Mr. Stark! Please,"

Tony quickly turned around and said, "Yes, Dear?"

I snorted in amusement and saw Pepper give him a look. I was so right; this was going to be good.

"Can I have your attention?" the annoyed man said.

"Absolutely." Tony responded, causing the other people in the room to chuckle…or at least most of them.

The camera finally turned away from Tony's face and I could see the man annoying me. It was Senator Stern…and he definitely lived up to his name.

"Do you or do you not possess a specialized weapon?" Stern said, clearly annoyed.

"I do not." Tony replied speaking very close to the microphone and looking tired and I saw some hidden annoyance on his face.

"You do not…" The senator repeated.

"I do not." Tony repeated, and then elaborated. "Well it depends on how you define the word 'weapon'."

I nodded, and pulled the large bowl of popcorn onto my lap. What my Dad was saying was very true. A lot of things depended on how you look at them.

"The Iron Man weapon." The senator said, speaking as if Dad was three.

My eyebrow twitched…Dad wasn't going to like that. A wicked grin appeared on my face, he would get what was coming to him.

"My device does not fit that description." Tony stated, and I saw a vein on his forehead throbbing…he was getting annoyed.

"Get him Dad." I stated into the Com. and I saw Tony's lips twitch slightly in response.

Tony's statement threw the senator off, and he said, "H…w…How would you describe it?"

I snickered loudly, oh; he fell right into that one.

"I would describe it by defining it by what it is, Senator." Dad stated, his eyes begging the man to push him.

"Oh, he asked for it…" I stated, and I knew Dad was listening.

"As," The senator asked, I noticed that the man on the right, was clearly very annoyed with my father. It was funny.

"Um, a…hem…it's a high tech prosthesis." Tony said, pausing for a moment while he 'appeared' to be thinking of a response.

The crowd laughed, and I smirked as I popped popcorn into my mouth.

"Nice comeback." I stated.

"That is," Tony turned towards the guests, "actually the most apt description I could make."

He turned and faced the panel of old guys again, and I snickered. This was totally worth missing out on seeing Tony.

"It's a weapon, it's a weapon Mr. Stark…" Stern said, the rest of his sentence was drowned out by Tony who interrupted.

"Please, if your priority was actually the wellbeing… of the American citizens…" Tony stated, and his hand went to his forehead and I saw him pale slightly.

"Dad, was that another surge?" I asked; worry clear in my voice as I put the popcorn down.

"My priority….is to get the Iron Man weapon turned over to the people of the United States of America." Stern said, and I could see him trying not to glare.

"Deep breaths helps with the pain, Dad." I stated, dismayed that I actually had to give him that advice.

"Well," I heard him take a deep breath before he said, "you can forget it."

Tony paused, and I could see him take another practically unnoticeable deep breath. "I am Iron Man. The suit and I are one. To turn over the Iron Man suit would be to turn over myself which is tandem amount of in due interest…servitude, or prostitution depending on which state you are in."

The audience laughed, but Tony was not done. "I'm not the only hero out there. But I don't see any of you jumping down their throats with a flashlight, trying to take away what makes them who they are."*

Tony shrugged and said, "Can't have it."

He really did look exhausted, I sighed, the sooner Dad got out of the public eye, he better I would feel. We didn't need anyone figuring any of this out.

"Look," Stern said, "I…I'm no expert…"

"In prostitution? Of-course not, you're a Senator. Come one!" Tony said, before glancing back at Pepper.

She just gave him a stern look and I could tell she was biting her tongue, literally, from speaking out.

"I'm no expert in weapons…" The senator stated, loosening his tie.

"Good job Dad, he's nervous." I commented.

"I'm just doing my job.* But we do have someone here who's an expert on weapons. I would like Justin Hammer…"

Tony sat up straighter, and I groaned, "Seriously, that idiot?"

Dad seemed to agree with me, if the clenching of his jaw was anything to go bye.

"…our current primary weapons contractor." Stern continued as the camera spun around to see the snobbish, nerd who ripped everyone off.

"Let the record show," Tony said, "That I observed Mr. Hammer entering the chamber, and I am wondering, if and when, any actual expert will also be in attendance."

This caused the audience to mutter amongst one another and Hammer had to take a drink of water to hide his anger.

"Hehehe…"Hammer laughed emotionlessly, "absolutely, I'm no expert…"

"Bloody Hell," I stated in shock, "a Stark and a Hammer agree on something! Is the world ending?!"

"I'd refer to you, Anthony." Hammer continued, using Dad's full name.

I saw his eyebrow twitch and stated, "Whip his ass for that Dad."

I knew Tony Hated…with a passion, his real name; it was attached to too many memories of Howard.

"…you're the wonder boy." Hammer snipped.

Dad didn't rise to the bait. But I did, "and you're a pathetic, little, slimy, no good weasel."

I saw Dad's lips twitch and I sighed.

Tony wasn't the only one who did comical relief.

"Senator, if I may." Hammer continued.

I was proud of Tony, he hadn't killed him yet… and I told him so. "Good job Dad, you haven't killed him yet…proud of you. Even if he isn't worth it and totally deserves it."

"I may well be not an expert, but you know who was the expert? Your Dad…" Hammer stated, as he took the microphone and started to walk around.

"Okay," I stated giving him my biggest death glares as I coughed. "Now you can kill him."

"Howard Stark." Hammer continued an aware of the concealed glare that Tony was sending him, or of the look of shock that Pepper was giving him.

You don't mention Howard unless Tony does…ever…period.

"really a father to us all." Hammer stated, looking over the audience.

"Fry him." I stated coldly, glaring at the large glasses wearing idiot.

I saw Tony sigh and move towards the microphone…yes. "Shut him up." I stated.

"and to the military and industrial age. Let's just be clear. He was no flower child, he was a lion. We all know why we're here…"

The senator was giving Tony a smug look. He knew Howard got under Tony's skin…a lot of people did.

Tony was latterly on his last piece of self-control, I could just tell.

"In the last six months, Anthony Stark has created a sword with untold possibilities." Hammer stated.

"Dude, you stink at metaphors." I told the screen, and saw a small nod from Tony in agreement.

"and yet, he insists it's a shield. He asks us to trust him as we cower behind it. I wish I was comforted Anthony, I really do. Loved to leave my door unlocked when I leave the house, but this ain't Canada. You know, we live in a world of grave threats. Threats that Mr. Stark will not always be able to foresee. Thank you." Hammer said as he sat back down.

My eyebrow twitched and I quickly turned up the volume on his microphone, so if he so much as stubbed his toe, the whole chamber would hear it. No one messed with the Starks and got away with it unscathed.

"God bless Iron Man, God Bless America." He said, and put the microphone down. Sadly for him, and those sitting near him, he farted as soon as he sat down. Now, while usually it would be completely unnoticeable by those around him because of how quiet it was, the micro-phone was turned up to the max, and so it was heard echoing throughout the chambers.

The audience had a mixed reason, some 'ewwed' and other laughed; while a lot moved away from Hammer with disgusted looks.

Tony snorted, trying to hide his laugher. He raised an eyebrow at Hammer, who was pretending nothing had happened, through his blush gave him away but I knew that the silent question was asked to me.

"Yup, part of me is thrilled that he's humiliated…the other half feels bad…for all of the people sitting near him." I stated smugly.

"That is well said, Mr. Hammer." Stern said, trying to overlook the personal matter the whole nation, and perhaps world, had just heard. "We of the comity would like to invite Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes to the chamber."

Tony's and my eyes widened as Stern dropped that bomb on us.

"Rhodey? What?" Tony said in shock turning towards the door, the same time I said, "Is that why Uncle Rhodey wasn't there?"

I had taken to calling Rhodey 'uncle' sometimes, it wasn't often and usually I said it to get a reaction out of him.

Tony stood up and greeted his friend, the TV couldn't capture what was said, but the Com. did.

"Hey buddy. Didn't expect to see you here." Tony stated, worried. They hadn't been talking much as of late, and I bit my lip. This could mess things up.

"Look, its me, I'm here deal with it." Rhodey said.

"Let's move on." Tony agreed, "It's just…"

"Drop it." Rhodey said sternly.

"We have up here, a complete report on the Iron Man weapon..." Stern started.

Just as Rhodey was about to move away from Tony, Dad whispered in digression, "Careful what you say. It's all rigged carefully by Pen…she's already angry."

"Thanks Dad, you ruin all of my fun." I muttered.

Rhodey gave him a look that said, 'shut up' as he sat down. But he seemed to get the message.

He knows better to mess with me when I'm annoyed.

"compiled by Coronel Rhodes, and Coronel, for the record, can you please read page 57 paragraph 4…" Stern said.

Tony looked worried; this could go extremely downhill fast.

"Excuse me, but are you asking me to read specific selections from my report, Sir?" Rhodey asked, ad he looked both nervous and unnerved. I wondered if was more scared _for_ Tony or _of_ me.

"Yes," Stern replied, looking smug.

"It was my understanding, sir, that I would be testifying in a much more comprehensive and detailed manor." Rhodey stated calmly, shooting a small glace at Tony.

"I understand," Stern said,

"Not, you probably planned it this way." I stated, glaring at the senator.

"A lot of things have changed today." Stern continued.

"You do understand," Rhodey said, "that reading a single paragraph out of context does not reflect …"

"Just read it." Stern stated, shutting him up. "Yes, Coronel, I do. Thank you."

Rhodes looked annoyed for a moment before his mask slipped into place and he complied.

"Very well," he said, starting to read. "As he does not aperate within any definable branch of the government…Iron Man presents a potential threat to the security of both the nation and to her interests."

The whole time he read, you could just tell that he didn't want to read it, and that he didn't agree with a word said.

"I did however," Rhodey said, knowing that his testimony could make this really difficult for his friend. "go on to summarize, that the benefits of Iron Man, far out…"

"Ah…ah," Stern said, realizing that he was saying something that could ruin it for _them._

"Weigh the liabilities…" Rhodey tried to continue as Stern said,

"That's enough Colonel."

Rhodey tried to continue, however, his words where drowned out as Stern kept saying, "That' enough Colonel."

"…suggest that we fold, Mr. Stark, into the chain of commands…" Rhodey continued, determined to back up his friend.

Seeing that he was in trouble, Tony interrupted, "I'm not a joiner. But I'll consider Secretary of Defense…if you ask nicely. If we can bend the hours a little bit."

"Good job Dad." I stated as the audience laughed. He had gotten all of the attention off of Rhodey.

"I would like to go on to show," Stern said, "If I may, the imagery that is connected to your report."

"I believe that it is somewhat premature to, ah, revel these images to the general public at this time." Rhodey said.

"Coronel, Coronel, I understand and if you understand and if you would narrate those for us we would be…very grateful." Stern said, and Rhodey did not look happy.

"Let's have the images." He stated, gesturing towards the screens.

"Should I let them through?" I asked my dad, and the slight shift of his eyes was my answer.

'for now.'

An aerial view picture appeared on the screens as Rhodey said, "Intel suggests that the device seen in these photos" the picture changes to another, "are efforts in making manned copies of Mr. Starks suits."

Tony pulled out his Starkphone, (I know, I didn't name them) and an IM appeared on my screen.

'Send video files you found to my phone, and let me have access.'

'On it.' I typed as I quickly sent over the video files that I had pulled from the military mainframe the day before. I had been bored, and it had made a good laugh for me and Tony.

"…this has been collaborated by our allies and local intelligence…" Rhodey contined, as I saw Tony's electronic presence taking over the screen.

"Show them up, Dad." I stated.

"…on the ground indicating that these suits are a…quiet… possibly at this moment…operational." Rhodey stated regulently.

The audients started muttering to themselves, and just for a moment, Stern looked happy. Then Tony leaned forward and said, "Just a moment, buddy, wait a sec."

He moved his phone, which everyone was staring at, (it was clear plastic with holograms and very high tech, nothing available like it on the current market) towards the screens.

"Oh, oh boy I'm good." The green code appeared on screen and suddenly the code stopped and read, 'Welcome, Mr. Stark'.

I might have had something to do with that.

"I commandeered your screens…I need them." Tony stated, moving on to the second one, which showed the same message as the first.

"Time for a little transparency. Now let's see what is really going on." Tony commented as he/we loaded the first video.

"What is he doing?" Stern said, becoming concerned.

"Now, if you'd turn your attention to said screens. I believe that is North Korea." Tony said, the black and white video appeared on screen. A robotic suit, looking like it came out of sixties horror movie, appeared on screen. It took a few steps before falling over on its 'face' and shooting everyone.

Some people stood up to get a closer look, while others stated to turn it off as blood splattered the screen.

"Turn it off. Turn that off." Stern said, and Hammer got up, being the only one who bothered to listen.

"Iran." Tony continued, loading the next video. A blurry suit exploded in midair, not far from the ground, before crashing and hitting the camera. "No grave immediate threat here…"

Hammer continued to try and turn it off, but he really showed how much he knew as he was just hitting every button.

"Is that Justin Hammer?" Tony stated, confused. I had loaded that video. It was one that my worm in SHELD had picked up, and I had forgotten to show him.

"You're welcome." I stated.

"How did Hammer get in here?" Tony asked. It showed Hammer standing next to the most humanoid suit yet.

"_Lift your right leg up."_ Video Hammer stated, and the suit complied, as the real Hammer started freaking out.

I started laughing.

"_Arm up"_

"Justin, pay attention. You're on TV." Tony mocked stated as the video continued.

"_Right arm."_

Everyone started muttering and shot Hammer tons of different looks. A lot shocked and quite a few annoyed and irritated.

We couldn't hear what was being said as everyone was talking, but after a few seconds I was able to catch video Hammer said, _"Turn to the left._"

The suit complied alright…just…a bit too much. It turned all the way around. Snapping the pour pilot's spine, and causing the suit to spark. We could even hear his muffled screams of pain through the two broadcasts.

Hammer wasn't going to have any friends any time soon.

You could hear video Hammer cussing as the current Hammer finally unplugged the screens.

"Oh, wow." Tony commented, shaking his head. "yeah… I'd say…um…most countries...five to ten years away…Hammer Industries…twenty."

Hammer hurried over to his microphone and said, "I would like to point out that that Test Pilot survived."

"…the point that he is making…I want to put it down…" Stern said, he was standing and was sounding like an idiot.

"The point is: you're welcome." Tony said, and I knew that he was wrapping everything up with a bow. "I guess."

"For what?" stern snapped.

"Because, I'm part of* your nuclear deterrent. It's working. We're safe, America is secure. You want my property, you. Can't. have. It! But I did you a big favor."

I sighed but knew Tony was going to do it anyway. "I have successfully privatized world peace." Tony stood up and looked towards the audience, that started clapping and cheering at his statement.

They have him a standing ovation when he gave them the peace sign.

"What more do you want?" Tony yelled over the crowd as he made to leave the room. "For now,"

Stern looked annoyed and sat back down, knowing that there was nothing more he could do.

"and for all of these ass-clowns." Tony stated and I had to laugh.

"F*ck you, Mr. Stark." Senator Stern said, causing many of his counsel members to look at him in shock, "F*ck you buddy."

"Can't believe he just said that on live TV…" I stated to myself in shock. He must really dislike my dad.

"We're adjourned…we're adjourned for the day." Stern said as Tony smiled and gathered his stuff; clearing enjoying getting such a rise out of the senator.

"Okay," Tony said as he slipped on his sun glasses.

"You've been a delight." Stern commented as Tony have him a thumbs up, then blew him some kisses to mock him.

I had to shake my head and laugh at the same time. I had said this once, and I'll say it probably a thousand times more. Only Tony.

* * *

**This is the LONGEST CHAPTER IN THE STORY! It TOOK ME HOURS WRITE THIS! I hope you people are happy…sooooo late….I would have split it in two, but I wasn't sure where was a good place. Oh well. Just…don't annoy me or stuff and I'll leave you alone.**

**Thanks to everyone, I'm too tired to comment…**

**Oh, the * parts. The first one and last one (i think...) I just thought that Penny might make Tony a bit more aware of other people (hero's) and it is a good point. The middle one was his response to it and…I just wanted to. I told you it wouldn't be word for word and stuff. If something sounds weird, blame the late hour.**

**I'm goin to bed…sooooo…late….  
Cp**


End file.
